ABOUT US 3: The Good And The Bad
by LeE-81881
Summary: *UP TO CHAPTER 10* Two months after the events of About Us 2, Harm and Mac meet up with Clay and Annika once again.
1. Default Chapter

ABOUT US 3: The Good And The Bad 1/13  
  
  
Author: LeE  
  
e-mail: lee_81881@yahoo.com  
  
Classification: Romance H/M, Clay/Annika (eventually)  
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Disclaimers: If they belonged to me... no comment. :) JAG is property of DPB and CBS. I'm just having some fun while procrastinating on homework...   
  
Author's Note: This story takes place two months after the events of About Us 2. The rest of the information related to LLNL and the different laboratories mentioned, as well as the current research on Nitrogen bond-dissociation is real, although not nearly as advanced as I make it in the story. Believe me, the world would be a whole lot different. Even though chemistry is a passion of mine, Nitrogen compounds is not my area of expertise; but if anyone is interested in further information about anything mentioned on this story, please don't hesitate to contact me. :) Enjoy...  
  
Thanks a bunch to my incredible betas! You guys are the best!:)  
  
  
PART 1  
  
LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY  
OCTOBER 12, 1998  
  
It had been an extraordinary day. That morning, when he'd woken up, it had all seemed normal; nothing out of the ordinary. His wife of eighteen years had served him breakfast at exactly seven o'clock and then hurried upstairs to make sure their children were all ready to come down for breakfast before heading off to school. Everything had smelled the same it always did. The clothes he'd chosen the night before had been just where he left them, and he'd been ready for his day. He'd kissed his wife goodbye and dropped his two adolescent daughters off at school.   
  
Traffic had been surprisingly forgiving, as he'd driven into the parking lot at work a few minutes before scheduled time. The coldness of the brisk winter day had hit him as he opened the door to exit his car and he'd smiled as he'd breathed in the cold air. Minutes later he'd sat in his office, quickly reviewing his notes as he'd gone over his presentation a thousand times in his mind.   
  
Finally, the time had come and he'd walked the short distance from his office to the auditorium where his colleagues awaited his arrival. It'd been a special day for N Division researchers at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory as Dr. Rasdja had finally walked through the door and started his presentation.   
  
It had gone overly well, and afterwards he'd headed off to have lunch with a few of his colleagues. Everyone had seemed pleased with the new developments he'd presented that morning at the lab meeting and they'd been eager to find out more, as it was always the case whenever new developments occurred in any laboratory at LLNL. Dr. Rasdja knew this, yet still he'd felt flattered by his colleague's attention. It had been a special day indeed.   
  
Now, as the working day neared its end, he sat at his desk once more, with a smile permanently plastered on his face. Endless days and nights of research had paid off and no one would be able to take away the satisfaction he felt, evidenced by his wide lasting smile. No one would dare.   
  
Finally, the time came to head on home, and with evident pride he strode out of the laboratory, and into the hallway. Turning the handle on the door he stepped through it and smiled at John, the guard who worked the night shift, and who was always there at five o'clock on the dot. It was already dark outside and he pulled his coat a little tighter around himself as he made his way towards his car.   
  
Keys in hand, he neared the vehicle. The bright red of his new SUV was hard to miss, even in the darkness of the night, and he swiftly pressed the tiny button that unlocked the car and disarmed the alarm. Once inside he sighed and smiled at his own reflection in the rearview mirror.   
  
It had been an extraordinary day. The end, however, would be anything but. A blaze of fire enveloped the vehicle and its owner as soon as the key was turned to start the car, and at once the force of the explosion had rattled the windows on which the fire's reflection was so clear. People ran out the door and stood horrified at the scene unfolding before their very eyes. Their colleague, their friend was in that car and there was nothing any of them could do. The firemen arrived shortly after, followed by the police and later the FBI as they all tried to make sense of the situation.   
  
A man was lost that day. A scientist, a researcher, a friend. But also a father, a husband, a brother, and a son. But the man was not to be forgotten, and neither was his work. His visions of a new generation of nitrogen chemistry was to revolutionize industrial as well as academic research.   
  
Nitrogen. In the days that followed, some spoke highly of Dr. Rasdja at his memorial service. Some offered words of comfort to his family. Some wrote about him. Some prayed. Some simply thought about him and kept the rest to themselves. The investigation of his death went on for a few months until it died down quietly, no one ever knowing who had truly been behind it. No one but the one who had been responsible.   
  
Ironic, some would say, how the one thing he'd spent years trying to develop and further had been the cause of his very death. Ironic. Science. The good and the bad.   
  
LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY  
LIVERMORE, CA  
TUESDAY, JUNE 4, 2002  
  
"You wanted to see me, Dr. Jones?" Nicole Avery asked as she entered her Principal Investigator's office early that morning.   
  
"Yes, Nicole. I just wanted an update on your work this week, since you're leaving tomorrow for the meeting at Georgetown University."  
  
Nicole quickly took a seat and proceeded to open her lab notebook, which she kept in perfect order. "I finished the data analysis from the real-time RT-PCR data you requested. The order for the primers and GAPDH fluorescent probe has already been sent, and I'll make sure to leave a full report on your desk today before I leave."  
  
Dr. Jones nodded approvingly. "That's good work, Nicole. So far, you've proved yourself to be on the right track towards a brilliant career in biomedical research. I'll look forward to your report."  
  
"Thank you, Dr. Jones" Nicole answered with a bright smile on her face and stood to leave the office. Dr. Jones watched her leave and sighed. How had a first year graduate student like Nicole landed a job at LLNL? Sure, she wasn't doing any major individual research or anything, but her research topic at UC Davis seemed interesting enough, and she was sure doing her job well. Shaking his head, he went back to his work.  
  
The day went by fast enough for Nicole, and once her time to leave approached, she went directly towards Dr. Jones' office and handed his secretary the report she'd promised. Collecting her things, she made sure not to leave anything personal at her bench, and headed out. Once safely inside her vehicle, she took out her cell phone and dialed.  
  
"Hi, Don. It's Annika. I'm leaving the lab. I'll be there Thursday at 1535. Jones thinks I'm leaving tomorrow, so I'll have tonight to do some final poking around."   
  
Don smiled at her choice of words to describe her work. 'Poking around' sure sounded less dangerous than what she was actually doing. "Great. I'll see you then, Nik."  
  
"Okay. Don, what about Clay?" Don smiled at the other end. How dumb of him to even think for a second she'd forget to ask about Clay.  
  
"He's doing fine, Annika. He's almost done over there tying things up. He should be back sometime this week. Now, be careful, cover your tracks, and get back here ASAP, Agent" Annika smiled, relieved that Clay would be back in Washington soon, and happy that she'd be getting a few days break from her investigation.  
  
"Bye, Don"  
  
ROCK CREEK PARK  
WASHINGTON, DC  
WEDNESDAY, JUNE 5, 2002  
0657 EST  
  
The cool morning air caressed their faces as they made their way down the smooth running track around the park. Running together in the mornings had been one of the first old habits they'd decided to take up again after the doctor had cleared Harm to exercise. Being the stubborn Sailor that he was, he had refused to stay inactive longer than he had to, and therefore, their morning routine now included a five-mile run around the park.  
  
"Harm, you okay?" Mac asked, a little concern as she took in his breathing pattern.   
  
"I'm...okay...Mac...just..."  
  
"Okay, stop it right now, Sailor. Let's go a little easier here" she said as she slowed her pace and waited for him to do the same, which he was more than happy to do.   
  
"Harm, you've got to take it easy" Mac sighed.   
  
"I told you, I'm..." and that's all she needed to hear. Quickly stopping her jog, she caught his arm and halted him.  
  
"You know, not even Jingo was this hard to tame, Squid" she finished with a teasing smile as she took in the tiredness and exhaustion on his face.  
  
"That's because he was already trained when you got him, Marine."  
  
Mac rolled her eyes. "Okay, we're done for today. Let's walk back to the car, and I promise I'll make you some healthy low-fat breakfast."  
  
"Low-fat breakfast?" He raised his eyebrows.  
  
"Well, don't want you complaining about my cooking being the reason for those tiny, tiny love handles you seemed to have worked up the past few months" Mac finished, teasingly pinching his side and opening her eyes wide as if she'd just pinched the side of a fleshy bulldog. Harm simply rolled his eyes.  
  
"More like your cooking would be the cause of the heart attack I'd have if I ate like you, Marine. But since you don't cook..." Mac smiled.   
  
"Harm, I'm serious. You'll get back to your old self eventually. You know this takes time" Harm sighed, both hands placed on his hips.  
  
"I know, it actually took me longer to lose the weight I gained last year after my crash." He mused distractedly and missed the flash of pain and regret that crossed her eyes. Running away and not being there for him during his recovery wasn't a source of pride for her. 'Stop it. That's all over' she admonished herself and turned her attention back towards him in time to catch his next words.  
  
"I guess three ejections and almost four decades on me doesn't help matters, huh?" Harm uttered, shooting a lopsided grin her way.  
  
"Are you calling my boyfriend old?" Mac teased, effectively ending the strained conversation about Harm's less than excellent physical shape. Smiling, he dropped a quick kiss on her lips and started off in a run towards their car, leaving a smiling Marine behind. "Race ya" he yelled over his shoulder, laughing at Mac's protests of unfairness.   
  
  
MAC'S APARTMENT  
GEORGETOWN  
SAME DAY  
1834 EST  
  
For the first time since the night before they were shipped to Afghanistan, Harm and Mac had a date. During the three weeks Harm had been under her care, they'd had the time of their life, talking, laughing, getting used to being together as a couple, and marveling at how incredible it felt to finally have each other in every aspect.   
  
The past two months had been a roller coaster ride, not just for them but also for the entire office, and truthfully the entire world. The events that had taken place barely a couple weeks before were nothing if not unsettling. Every night, she'd close her eyes and remember the cheering and clapping aboard the Seahawk after seeing Harm fly by the carrier, with a missile on his tail nonetheless. They had been so excited about the deflected threat to the ship that they'd forgotten that one of the best pilots in the Navy was still at risk of being blown up by the relentless missile. It wasn't until the coordinates for the missile's resting place in the ocean had been reported to the Seahawk, that Mac allowed herself some amount of relief.   
  
Shooting a general glance at the mirror, she studied her apparel and placed a stubborn lock of hair back behind her ear. Mac smiled in anticipation of the wonderful evening that lay ahead for her and Harm, but her smile died and a pang of guilt ran through her as she realized she'd be spending the evening, and possibly the night, with the love of her life, while Harriet was confined to her husband's bedside. Sure, Bud was alive. He'd survived the horrible encounter with the landmine, and according to the doctors, he would recover well enough and most likely be able to return to his duties as a Naval Officer.   
  
Harriet had been so understanding, masking as best as she could the pain she felt as she tried to come to terms with her husband's fate. Harm and Mac had been there with her every second they were allowed, and somehow they'd been cornered into taking a night for themselves, alone. They'd agreed to watch little AJ for the weekend, so Harriet and Bud could have some time alone for themselves, but it still didn't make it feel completely right to go out and have fun while their dear friends were going through so much.   
  
The doorbell brought her back from her thoughts and straightening the invisible wrinkles of her dress, Mac walked towards the door and looked through the peephole. There he was, the most handsome, wonderful man in the Universe, and he was there for her.   
  
"You're four minutes late, flyboy" Mac said, a look of mock annoyance in her feminine features as she opened her apartment door. Harm always managed to leave her breathless no matter what the occasion, so she usually tried to get in her teasing comments before the effect he had on her seeped in. This time was no different. After two months, one week, two days, and 18 hours of being officially together as a couple, she still couldn't figure out how she'd been able to resist the sight of him for so long.   
  
"You know, we could always find something more interesting to do over there..." Mac mumbled against his neck as she nibbled softly and turned him slowly towards the bedroom. Harm smiled. They still hadn't had the chance to connect intimately since returning from the Seahawk with Bud fighting for his life. Tonight might be the night.  
  
"You mean you'd miss an opportunity to go out and show me off?" Harm countered with a smug smile on his face. Mac loved that side of their relationship.   
  
"Hmmm..." Mac pretended to ponder the options, remembering the day they'd finally gotten together and she'd told him she wanted to show him off to everyone. "Nah, let's go out. There's enough women out there who still need to know who you belong to." He laughed heartily at her comment, elated at Mac's protectiveness of him, and even happier that she felt comfortable enough to show it.   
  
A bright smile grew on her face as she took in his amusement, much like the one she'd offered him the first time she'd realized they were finally a couple. The memories of that night, before all hell had broken loose with the "Webb" mission, had sustained him during those long days he'd been trapped in Afghanistan. Their first night together had been wonderful, magical, a scene straight from a romance novel, but to his amazement, things just kept getting better, and Bud's accident had done nothing but strengthen that invisible bond they'd always shared.   
  
In companionable silence, they made their way down towards Harm's SUV, and as always, he politely opened the door for her, giving her a peck on the cheek before going around to the driver's side. Once they were on the road, his hand reached out to grasp hers. Immediately recognizing what had become a routine gesture, she gently cradled his hand between both her smaller ones, and set them down on her lap. With the tip of her fingers, she began tracing lazy patterns on his bigger hand.   
  
"I love it when you do that, you know?" He said quietly, turning his head to give her a bright appreciative smile.   
  
"I know" she answered and smiled back as she placed a soft kiss on his hand and then set it back down on her lap to continue her ministrations. It would be an amazing night.   
  
TBC 


	2. Part 2

ABOUT US 3: The Good And The Bad 2/13   
  
  
Author: LeE  
  
e-mail: lee_81881@yahoo.com  
  
Classification: Romance H/M   
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Disclaimers: If they belonged to me... no comment. :) JAG is property of DPB and CBS. I'm just having some fun while procrastinating on homework...   
  
Author's Note: This story takes place two months after the events of About Us 2. The rest of the information related to LLNL and the different laboratories mentioned, as well as the current research on Nitrogen bond-dissociation is real, although not nearly as advanced as I make it in the story. Believe me, the world would be a whole lot different. Even though chemistry is a passion of mine, Nitrogen compounds is not my area of expertise; but if anyone is interested in further information about anything mentioned on this story, please don't hesitate to contact me.   
  
Many thanks to my betas, who always do such a great job keeping me motivated... you're the best, guys!...  
  
AN2: An NC-17 version of this part is also available. It's posted at shipperhm and jaghm. If you'd like to read it, and are of age, e-mail me and I'll be glad to send it your way...:) enjoy...  
  
FROM PART 1  
  
In companionable silence, they made their way down towards Harm's SUV, and as always, he politely opened the door for her, giving her a peck on the cheek before going around to the driver's side. Once they were on the road, his hand reached out to grasp hers. Immediately recognizing what had become a routine gesture, she gently cradled his hand between both her smaller ones, and set them down on her lap. With the tip of her fingers, she began tracing lazy patterns on his bigger hand.   
  
"I love it when you do that, you know?" He said quietly, turning his head to give her a bright appreciative smile.   
  
"I know" she answered and smiled back as she placed a soft kiss on his hand and then set it back down on her lap to continue her ministrations.   
  
PART 2  
  
RUPPERTS  
WASHINGTON, DC  
1905 EST  
  
"Good evening" The hostess immediately addressed Harm as he made his way towards her. Mac was busy looking through her purse for her cell phone and Harm walked a little ahead of her as they entered.   
  
"Rabb, reservation for two" Harm said and offered a polite smile to the blonde who couldn't take her eyes off him. Harm seemed unfazed by the attention, and once he made sure their reservation was in order, he turned and extended his arm towards Mac, smiling fully at her as she readily entwined her fingers with his. Mac had never thought of herself as possessive, but when it came to Harm and pretty blondes gawking at him, she couldn't help it. Other than spending time with her Flyboy, the look on women's faces when they realized he was taken was Mac's favorite part of their dates. Harm wasn't totally oblivious to her triumphant expressions whenever women flirted with him and he turned them down, but he didn't care. Actually, after so many years of hiding and denying, he loved it that they could finally express their true feelings towards each other.   
  
If Mac was protective, Harm was twice as bad. Every time they were out in public he always found a way to touch her, to draw her close, even while in uniform though they were much more discreet in such instances. Mac was keenly aware of the way Harm treated her, but unlike her past relationships with men, this time she didn't mind his behavior. Often she found herself comparing her relationship with Harm to others she'd had in the past, but she always ended up at the same place. Harmon Rabb, Jr. had no comparison; their relationship was beyond comparison.   
  
With a gentle arm on the small of her back, Harm guided Mac across the room towards their table. The looks directed at Mac were not lost on Harm, and he took a moment to gaze at the love of his life from behind. Her perfectly shaped shoulders, the enticing curve of her neck, the way her tender tanned skin glowed in contrast to the ivory off the shoulders dress she chose to wear. Suddenly feeling the need to feel her closer, he pressed the palm of his big hand flat against the part of her back that was left exposed, as if he could somehow shield her from the piercing stares of the males in the room as they neared their table. Once they were seated, they smiled at each other and went about looking over the menu.   
  
"You look delicious tonight, Squid" Mac whispered in his direction and watched as Harm lifted his head and gave her a warning 'don't start' look. Mac laughed, enjoying the squirming Sailor in front of her as she reached with her foot under the table and rubbed gently against his leg.   
  
"Maaaac. Behave"   
  
"All right" she answered dejectedly and retrieved her foot, only to jump on her seat as he returned the favor under the table. "You sneaky little..."   
  
His grin turned devilish. "I'm anything but little Mac. You should know that by..."  
  
"Can I take your order, Sir, ma'am" the waitress interrupted their little game, and hiding the smug smile on his face, Harm concentrated on ordering their food. Minutes later, Harm spoke.  
  
"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. Don called this morning. He said Annika should be coming home tomorrow afternoon from wherever she was undercover" Harm related to Mac as they enjoyed their delicious meal at the fancy restaurant.   
  
"Really? That's great. What else did he say? What about Clay?" Mac asked enthusiastically. Clay and Annika had become very good friends of her and Harm after the Afghanistan ordeal where Harm and Clay had been kidnapped by Clay's twin brother. Don, the DCI, had also stayed in touch with them. His duties prevented him from spending too much time away from the office. However, he'd attended several picnics and dinner parties at AJ's house and even had surprised them with his visit once to the park on a Saturday morning.   
  
"Well, they were undercover, but not together. Annika was in California. Clay, well, Don preferred not to tell me over the phone. But I'm sure he's tying up loose ends half a world away. I don't know when the spook will be back. Sometime this week Don said." Harm finished and smiled as Mac rolled her eyes.   
  
"Typical, typical. So, why did we get the good news of great joy? Is there a case there somewhere?" Mac asked, curious now as to where Harm was going with this. She really didn't want to go anywhere on assignment for the moment. Harriet and Bud still needed their support.   
  
"Mac, I'm sorry. We try not to talk about work outside the office, and, we can talk about this later." Harm said, reaching forward to clasp her hand in his. Mac smiled. He was so considerate, and so gentle with her that sometimes she couldn't believe her luck.   
  
"Well, if Annika's coming back tomorrow, and Don wants us there too, then it must mean there's something going on that will probably involve us as well. We both know Don never calls us at JAG just to say hello. I just wish it wasn't now. I mean, Bud and Harriet..." Mac trailed off as she realized if they didn't stop this conversation their evening would be spent reliving the last two weeks, instead of enjoying each other's company.  
  
"Mac, we'll be there for them. No matter what happens, we'll find a way to help." Harm paused and took a deep breath. "Well, no use in getting worked up about something we aren't sure about yet. He did say he expected us for dinner tomorrow. I told him I'd ask you and get back to him" Mac nodded her approval and that was the end of the discussion. It wasn't easy leading their lives at JAG and maintaining a romantic relationship outside the office. But after wasting so much time, and risking losing each other, they'd both learned that making time for each other had to be a priority.   
  
They finished their meal in companionable silence, stealing glances at each other and laughing like teenagers when the other caught them. Being together like they were now was so much more fun than they'd ever thought it could be. But through all the laughter and romance of their perfect date, there was still something on Harm's mind; Mac could see it in his eyes. Deciding not to ruin their wonderful evening with a serious conversation, she kept smiling and laughing at his ridiculous attempts at comedy.   
  
HARM'S APARTMENT  
THURSDAY JUNE 6, 2002  
0613 EST  
  
"Harm"  
  
"Hmm...five... more...hon..." Harm slurred sleepily against Mac's neck. She laughed as he rolled to his back, and reached out his arms tugging at her lovingly until she was completely resting on top of him. It was something Harm did often, and she loved how even in his unconscious state of sleep, he needed her as close as physically possible. Her cheek was pressed up against his, and his big hands splayed across her naked back. Harm rubbed his face against her a few times and shifted her around a little until he was satisfied with their positions.   
  
"Harm..." she whispered once again.  
  
"Please, Mac... just a little longer."  
  
"Harm, we're 13 minutes late if we want to make it to work in time after our run." She was trying so hard to be the voice of reason, but his idea was so tempting.  
  
"Hmm... no run... you... me... here... all... day" he finished, his eyes still closed, and Mac smiled as he grinned in his sleep.   
  
"Harm, we can't stay here all day. We have to work, remember? Navy? JAG? Jefferson Court-Martial? Stop me when it starts getting familiar..."  
  
Finally, Harm opened his eyes partly and regarded her for a few seconds. A slow smile spread across his face and Mac sighed through a sexy smile as she felt the evidence of his morning arousal press up against her bottom. Oh, hell. Who needs to run anyway?   
  
"You're incorrigible, Flyboy" she whispered softly as she bent down to capture his lips in a slow kiss. Harm's hands instinctively moved over her soft skin and a low groan escaped his throat as she moved her lower body a few inches, rubbing enticingly against him as she felt herself grow hot and wet under his masculine spell.   
  
"And you're irresistible, ninja girl" Harm uttered tenderly as he pressed soft kisses across her face.   
  
"Hmmm... maybe we could go for some other form of exercise," Mac whispered and sighed as she felt Harm's lips travel lower to the hollow of her throat, nibbling and kissing. Her hands journeyed down over his strong muscular arms and entwining her fingers with his, she began to move lower and lower, softly planting open mouth kisses to his nose, his chin, his chest, and down over his firm stomach. She smiled as she moved sideways and bit teasingly on the little extra skin she found on his side. He wasn't back in complete shape, but the tiny love handles could not possibly take away from the splendor of his naked form in her eyes.   
  
"Maaaac..."   
  
She laughed that low sexy laugh he adored. "Hmm... sorry..." she mumbled as she ran her lips lower toward the place she knew he needed her most. Harm smiled in anticipation as he tangled his fingers in her hair. Closing his eyes, images of the night before swam across his mind's eye, and his face broke into a smile. They'd made passionate love to each other after more than three weeks of holding back. They'd come really close in Afghanistan, under the star filled sky that night they'd been stranded, but the little detail of getting caught in an air strike had hampered their plans.   
  
The night before had been amazing. The morning looked as promising.   
  
Some time later, partly recovered from their wondrous morning lovemaking, Harm rolled onto his side taking her with him. "I love you, Marine" Harm's voice muffled by her hair filled her ears and she sighed wrapping her arms tighter around his middle.   
  
"I love you too, Sailor" she replied placing soft kisses on his chest as his fingers played lazily over her curves. Once again, here eyes closed to the simple pleasure his hands on her skin evoked, but there were other things weighing heavily on her mind; Harm's nightmares being the most important one.   
  
Mac remembered his nightmares from a few months ago. He'd been home for merely a week when he'd started having them. At first she thought they were just bad dreams rooted in the terrors he'd lived through with Clay in Afghanistan. Then, one day, he'd screamed her name and tears had run down his cheeks as he fought in his sleep. She'd run to his side, and he'd told her everything. The memory was burned in her soul.   
  
***************  
"Hmmm, Mac... I'm...coming back... I promise... wait..." The nightmare was back, the dream. The same one he'd had so many times while he'd been held at that awful place half a world away. This time he could see her face, he could hear her calling him, he could see her crying, accepting the flag... moving on with her life, just like his mother had done after his father didn't return.   
  
Mac came running from the kitchen at his tortured screams. The image of the man she loved more than life-- twisting and turning, tears running down his handsome face- made the protective side of her come alive. Quickly leaning over him on the side of the bed, she attempted to wake him, holding him steady, whispering loving words to him as she watched him recognize her presence and physically calm down. His breath was still shallow, and drops of sweat trickled down the side of his face, merging with the tears he'd shed.   
  
"Harm, wake up, please. I'm here, Harm. Honey, wake up... come on" she pleaded with him over and over until his eyes opened slowly. Immediately he reached for her, crushing her to him in a desperate embrace that startled her at first.  
  
"I thought it was real" he whispered, anguish and pain noticeable on his tone.   
  
"What, Harm? Tell me what you saw, please" Mac murmured as she placed dozens of soft kisses everywhere on his face she could reach.   
  
Closing his eyes, Harm began relating his dream. "I... I was coming back. Just like I promised... but something wouldn't let me. I saw you, Sarah. You were... you were crying and I wanted to tell you I was okay, that I was alive, that I was coming back, but you couldn't hear me, you wouldn't... you wouldn't wait..." his voice broke and a sob escaped him as she held him tighter against her.   
  
Thinking over his words, she understood. The revelation caught her off guard and she attempted unconsciously to pull away from him, but the grip he had on her was too strong. Finally leaning back into his embrace, she let the tears fall, mingling with his, as she finally realized why it'd taken them so long to get to where they were now. Why he'd said 'not yet', why he'd pushed her away, why he never tried to stop her engagement to Mic. And as these thoughts ran through her mind, the guilt she'd felt everyday since accepting Mic's ring surfaced once again. Things were too jumbled up for Harm to realize the implications of his dream at the moment. But Sarah Mackenzie knew she was responsible for some of it. And she knew some day they'd have to talk about it, but not now. Right now the man she loved needed comfort, reassurance, not a walk down memory lane.  
********************  
  
Was it time? Was it now the time to open up old wounds and settle the issue before it swallowed the love they'd just found?   
  
He'd looked so broken that day, so unlike the hero that he was. She'd give anything to never see him that way again. But it was necessary. It wouldn't be right now. They were due at work in an hour, and what she had in mind would take a lot longer than the time they had, but she was convinced it was the next step for them.   
  
Mac remembered what she'd promised him that day while she'd held him in her arms after his nightmare.   
  
"Harm, it will take time. But I promise you, I'll make you believe" she'd said. And he'd been overcome with emotion and had only been able to utter a broken 'I love you'.   
  
But believe in what? Believe that she'd never leave him? Believe that she could love him enough to wait for him should he someday meet his father's same fate? That she would fight wind and rain to find him, to be close to him no matter what happened? That she would never give up on him?   
  
But she had, hadn't she? When he'd chosen to return to his dream of flying, she'd hated him for it. She'd hated him for leaving her because she didn't know if she could live without him. She hated herself for depending on him that way, but instead of telling him she'd lashed out at him. She'd cut him from her life, she'd kept her promotion from him, she'd rubbed her partnership with Brumby in his face when he'd returned to JAG. She had turned from him, and she had kept her friendship from him. Her friendship; she'd denied him the one thing he'd needed most. And who could forget Sydney Harbor? When he'd said 'not yet' she'd turned her back on him and run to another man.   
  
Those long months before her wedding plagued her memories once more. Guilt had threatened to consume her whole every time she'd seen his eyes focused on her ring. No matter how much she denied it, she knew Harm loved her. She'd always known. It'd always been in his eyes, but her stubbornness had gotten in the way. The night of her engagement party, she'd seen the love in his eyes, she'd seen the hurt she'd caused him, she'd seen his desire to disregard the rules and make her his forever. And she'd stood there, waiting for him to break. Waiting for him to forget the reasons he'd respected the boundaries for 10 entire months. And she'd accused him of not being able to let go; but let go of what? Let go of everything that made him the man he was?   
  
After her wedding was canceled, he'd attempted to set things straight. She'd gone to his apartment, only to find Renee there; and as much as she wanted to hate him, she knew she could only hate the situation. But what had she done? She'd run. Once again. And when he flew half a world to speak to her what had she done? She'd bombarded him with questions and had left him there with the words in his lips. And why? Because she'd always wanted things on her own terms. Because when she'd asked the question, she'd expected a quick answer. Because she lacked the self-esteem to realize that a relationship with her would not be something he'd take lightly.   
  
The night he'd said 'I love you' she'd told him she loved him because of who he was. She'd told him how proud she was of him, how much she loved his integrity, and his honor, and his need to always do what's right. And he'd cried, because he'd thought she would never accept him the way he was. And it had broken her heart to hear him say he'd give up flying just for her. His words had gripped her heart and she'd finally realized that it wasn't his flying that she resented; it wasn't his honor, or his righteousness that she begrudged. It was the distance between them that she hated, and she'd finally admitted it'd been her fault as much as his.   
  
Not that she believed Harm to be innocent in all this, but she'd had enough of occupying her time blaming him instead of fixing what there was for her to fix.   
  
Now all she wanted was for him to be the man she'd always known. The man she'd fallen in love with. The man who chased missiles in combat because he understood that a lot more than his life was at stake; the man who devoted himself to a case until justice was served; the man who loved his friends and family enough to do anything for them; the man with the fragile heart behind the steel exterior.   
  
And now his nightmares were back. The ones where he cried out her name and begged her to believe he would return. After Afghanistan she'd tried to convince herself the dream was simply a repercussion of the terrible days he'd survived. Weeks had gone by and she'd been thankful that the dream had not returned. It had now.   
  
"Harm?"  
  
"Yes, baby?"   
  
"Harm, what's wrong?" Confronting Harm was never the best course of action.   
  
"Huh?"  
  
Mac sighed. "Harm, I know there's something bothering you. Feel like sharing?" she asked doing her best to sound casual. Careful not to raise her voice or in any way lead him to believe she was mad or disappointed. Mac knew her flyboy better than anyone.   
  
"Mac, there are tons of things wrong. For starters, Bud. Then..." she silenced him with a soft finger to his lips. He didn't want to talk.   
  
"Harm. You know that's not what I meant. It's okay if you don't want to talk about it now. I understand. Just remember that I'll be here whenever you're ready, okay?"   
  
Harm shut his eyes and fought the tears that threatened to build. How could he explain to her something he didn't understand himself? For a couple of weeks he'd been trying to figure out what was wrong, and for the life of him, Harm couldn't come up with an answer. He knew that he needed to talk to Mac. But old habits die hard, and opening up to his Marine was not something that came easily yet.   
  
"Thank you" was all he could say, and with a disappointed sigh she nodded against his skin.   
  
"I'll always be here for you, Harm. And I'll wait" she whispered just as she reached up to place a soft kiss on his lips.   
  
'I'll wait'. Her declaration brought him as much comfort as it did unease, but he pushed the latter aside. The words ran over and over in his mind and he could only hold on to her tighter, somehow wishing she could take him in her arms and make all his inner battles with himself go away.   
  
Mac sensed his struggle. There was nothing she would've liked better than to have him open up to her right then. But years of knowing him had taught her that all she could do was offer her support. She'd failed him enough before. She'd been impatient before and she'd ended up almost married to a man she didn't love. No. It wouldn't happen again. She would give him what he needed, and at the moment, it was silent support; and maybe a little entertainment.   
  
"Now what do you say we go and hit that shower, Sailor?" a smile accompanied her invitation and he smiled in return.   
  
"We, counselor?" Harm was fully aware that he was skirting a sensitive issue, but for once, he knew Mac understood.   
  
Mac gave him a sassy smile as she rose from the bed "Complaining, Squid?" Harm smiled.  
  
"Not all, ninja girl. Not at all" he murmured as he pushed himself out of bed and followed her in, admiring the excellent view of her backside presented to him. Mac was simply, the most amazing woman he'd ever met. What was wrong with him?   
  
TBC 


	3. Part 3

ABOUT US 3: The Good And The Bad 3/13  
Author: LeE  
  
e-mail: lee_81881@yahoo.com  
  
Classification: Romance H/M   
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Disclaimers: If they belonged to me... no comment. :) JAG is property of DPB and CBS. I'm just having some fun while procrastinating on homework...   
  
Author's Note: This story takes place two months after the events of About Us 2. The rest of the information related to LLNL and the different laboratories mentioned, as well as the current research on Nitrogen bond-dissociation is real, although not nearly as advanced as I make it in the story. Believe me, the world would be a whole lot different. Even though chemistry is a passion of mine, Nitrogen compounds is not my area of expertise; but if anyone is interested in further information about anything mentioned on this story, please don't hesitate to contact me.   
  
Many thanks to my betas, who always do such a great job keeping me motivated... you're the best, guys!...  
  
FROM PART 2  
  
"Now what do you say we go and hit that shower, Sailor?" a smile accompanied her invitation and he smiled in return.   
  
"We, counselor?" Harm was fully aware that he was skirting a sensitive issue, but for once, he knew Mac understood.   
  
Mac gave him a sassy smile as she rose from the bed "Complaining, Squid?" Harm smiled.  
  
"Not all, ninja girl. Not at all" he murmured as he pushed himself out of bed and followed her in, admiring the excellent view of her backside presented to him. Mac was simply the most amazing woman he'd ever met. What was wrong with him?   
  
PART 3  
  
DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT  
THURSDAY JUNE 6, 2002  
1555 EST  
  
"Well, well. Look who they sent to get me" Annika smiled at his long time partner and best friend, Clayton Webb.   
  
"Surely you're not about to complain about royal treatment, now are you?" Clay answered with a grin; well, as close as it got.   
  
Annika snickered. "Royal treatment my..."  
  
His hands went up in surrender. "Okay, okay. Enough insults. How are you?" Clay spoke as he took her carry on bag from her, much to her amusement.   
  
"Clay, I can carry my own bag and..."  
  
"Nik, we've been through this before. Would you please humor me?"  
  
"All right, fine. But don't tell anyone I let you treat me like a poor defenseless woman"  
  
His smile was wistful. "Believe me. I know better than anyone that you're not defenseless" Clay had been witness to Annika's hand to hand techniques and her astounding marksmanship many times before. Annika was anything but defenseless.  
  
"Well, I'd hate to demonstrate in public my full capability to defend myself. Good to know you remember who calls the shots, Spyboy"  
  
"Niiiiik..." Clay groaned at her use of his nickname in public, and Annika laughed. It was good to have their bantering back.   
  
The past two months had been hard on the partners. After the tragic events that resulted in Clay's brother taking his life, Clay hadn't been the same. Sure, his professionalism never faltered, his commitment to his duty was as strong if not stronger than ever, and the hold on his emotions seemed to be tighter now than it'd ever been. But his eyes spoke of a pain hidden so deep within him that only those who truly knew him could see.   
  
For weeks, after his brother's death, Clay had seemed distant, closed off to everything and everyone, even her. Clayton Webb was not the perfect example of openness and communication, but they'd always found a way to work through things together, even in the beginning when they barely knew each other. Finally, letting her helplessness guide her, she had relented and had taken an assignment down in the Caribbean so they could have some time apart.  
  
After returning from the Caribbean, Annika had been in DC for two weeks, and the change she'd seen in her partner was amazing. Amazing, but unsettling nonetheless. They had spent lots of time together those two weeks, including a handful of dinners with Harm and Mac, and even a weekend away in a cabin Clay owned. She had been pleased with his change in attitude, but couldn't help but wonder what had triggered it. Surely her being away hadn't had anything to do with it, but she was still curious, although grateful.   
  
Just when she was starting to feel like Clay would open up and talk about Afghanistan, she was sent to California, Clay had returned to Afghanistan a few days later, and that's when it had all gone to hell with Kabir. Why was Clay getting in trouble when she wasn't around to watch his six?  
  
She didn't like it that he kept his true feelings about his brother to himself, but she couldn't really demand much from him when she wasn't much more forthcoming with her own feelings either. She had her reasons, and so did he. Their system worked. They simply supported each other unconditionally, no questions asked; it had suited them for the past seven years. But, how much longer could their friendship survive this way?   
  
Deciding to enjoy his company for the time being and not dwell on things she couldn't control or understand, she turned to him and smiled.   
  
"When did you get back? Don said you wouldn't be back until later this week?" she questioned him as they walked out towards the car.   
  
"I'll tell you soon enough. For now I want to know how you are," he said and looked sideways at her, catching her careless shrug.  
  
"I don't know. Okay I guess. The investigation isn't all that exciting. Dr. Jones is... wait, do you have clearance for me to tell you this?" she asked seriously and Clay rolled his eyes.   
  
"I'll try and not take that as an insult" he said and smiled. It had been a long time since they'd been assigned to work on something they couldn't tell the other about. Soon, Clay sobered and looked back at her, all traces of joking gone. "Nik, that's what I need to talk to you about"  
  
"Oh"  
  
"Yeah. Come on, hop in, we're gonna be late" Clay spoke and closed the door after her and quickly walked over to the driver's side.   
  
Once safely inside his car, Clay turned towards her and gave her a lopsided smile.   
  
"I missed you Annika Marie"   
  
"I missed you too, Clay" she muttered and looked away for a second, not sure of how to handle this new side of her partner. After her return from the Caribbean, he'd become more...outspoken about certain things. Feeling the silence linger between them long enough to become uncomfortable, she spoke again.  
  
"Now what do you say you take me to dinner to that cute little diner we saw last time we were both in Washington?" Annika said with a smile on her face and Clay sighed inwardly in relief.   
  
"I would take you, but we're having dinner at Don's tonight. Harm and Mac are coming too," Clay said and turned to see her smile widen at the mention of their friends. Things had been so tense while they'd been in Afghanistan. It wasn't easy for Clay and Harm to go back there, but orders were orders, and Don wouldn't have assigned Clay to it if he didn't believe he could do it. She was only sorry she wasn't able to go with him. Her undercover case in California had moved up in the CIA's priority list, so Don had sent her there.   
  
"Does this friendly dinner have something to do with my case?"   
  
"I'm afraid it does, Nik" Clay finished handing her a folder which she quickly opened and scanned through.   
  
"You've got to be kidding. Do we have any clues on who killed him?" Annika asked shocked at seeing the crime scene pictures. Dr. Jones was dead. She couldn't believe it.  
  
"Actually, we do" Clay answered and looked away, concentrating once again on the road as Annika devoured the file in front of her.   
  
Suddenly, as if realizing for the first time he was actually there, Annika turned and narrowed her eyes accusatorily. "Why did Don call you back?"  
  
Clay sighed. "Nik, I ran into a few people while I was back in Afghanistan. I'll explain it all to you later, but right now, all I can say is that there has to be a connection between Livermore and FFChem, the chemical company I've been monitoring" Clay finished and closed his eyes briefly preparing himself for her protest.   
  
"You're telling me that you were after a chemical company back in Afghanistan that could have something to do with what's going on at Livermore and no one had the decency to tell me?!"   
  
He knew he had it coming. "Annika, calm down. The only reason we didn't tell you was because it was important not to risk your cover. Besides, we weren't sure there would even be a connection, but after this, I can't see how we missed it the first time."  
  
"After what, Clay?"  
  
"Keep reading"  
  
DONALD TRENT'S HOME  
THURSDAY JUNE 6, 2002  
1756 EST  
  
"Mac, Harm. Come in please" Don greeted them at the door and offered a warm smile as they walked past him.   
  
"Where's Annika?" Mac asked immediately, eager to see her friend.   
  
"She's back by the pool with Clay"  
  
"Clay's here already?" Harm asked pleasantly surprised as the three headed towards the back of the house.   
  
"He got in earlier this afternoon."   
  
Annika and Clay had arrived, at each other's throats, about an hour before Harm and Mac.   
  
**********  
"Don, would you please get her off my back?" Clay boomed as he burst through the door of the DCI's private residence. Don sighed. He'd been eagerly waiting for this moment. Right.   
  
"How could you keep this from me? What's wrong with you, Clay?!" Annika was so angry she couldn't see straight and Clay knew better than to confront her until she calmed down. After all, here was a woman who, just few months before, had killed nine members of the mafia in Venezuela, one by one, without any backup.   
  
"Annika, nothing's wrong with Clay. It wasn't necessary for you to know."  
  
"Oh don't you dare give me that need to know, crap!"  
  
Don continued on as if she hadn't spoken. "We weren't sure if the connection would be made with FFChem and at the moment, your assignment had nothing to do with technology smugglers. I convinced Clay to keep it from you," Don finished and almost laughed as he turned his head and saw Clay behind him, straining his neck to look at Annika grinning smugly at her. They were just like children when they forgot they were both trained CIA agents.   
  
Annika all but stuck her tongue out at him. "Quit hiding behind Don, Clay. I won't hurt you" she returned and Don laughed at Clay's pained _expression.   
  
"I'm not afraid of you" Clay stated matter-of-factly as he approached her tentatively. Annika suddenly reached her hands menacingly towards Clay's neck and he jumped back instinctively. Annika laughed and Don hid his smile behind his hand as he rolled his eyes.  
  
"If you kids are done playing, I'd like to go over a few things with you" Don said after a few moments.   
  
"Okay. I guess I understand. Now, what is it that you found out there while you were playing with the camels, spy boy?" Annika asked and winked at Clay, who simply rolled his eyes as he relaxed his stance at once. She smiled. He was too easy sometimes.  
  
Clay cleared his throat and spoke. "There has been communication intercepted between Livermore and the company we've been monitoring the past few weeks. We don't have all the details yet, but it looks like someone at LLNL is looking to make a little money on the side by selling secrets to the bad guys."   
  
"What kind of secrets? You mean confidential research data?"  
  
"N Division research, to be more specific." Annika remained silent.   
  
"So we have that, plus the sudden murder of Dr. Jones. What a mess." A gush of air formed tune as it passed her lips.   
  
"Perceptive" Arguments with her always triggered his sarcastic nature.   
  
"Shut up, Clay." Sometimes--like now-- he obeyed. But some other times, she wished they were both in the military. She could be a General and he could be a...a...First Lieutenant, and she could have the upper hand *all* the time. Unfortunately, they were CIA. Oh well.  
  
"Oooookay. So you have an idea now of what we need you to do when you go back to Livermore" Don stated interrupting their bickering. Sometimes he felt like a damn referee with those two. Annika simply nodded.   
  
"We need you on this one, Nik. We can't afford any mistakes. It's all really sketchy, but if someone can do this it's you" Don said and Annika smiled slightly as she nodded her understanding.   
  
*********  
The conversation had ended there and Don had left them alone to do whatever they did to get back in each other's good graces after a heated argument. Now, as Don walked along Harm and Mac towards the back of the house, he had a smile on his face. Seconds later, they approached Clay and Annika, who were obviously very busy stealing pieces of fruit from each other's plates.   
  
"Clay! Stop it!" Annika's mirthful laugh filled the warm afternoon air.  
  
"You started it!"  
  
"Ahem..."  
  
Jumping at the sound of a throat clearing, Clay and Annika looked up with guilty smiles at Harm and Mac.  
  
"Hey guys" Clay uttered, a little sheepish smile tugging at his lips as Annika laughed at him and stood up to hug both Harm and Mac. Clay followed, giving Mac a kiss on the cheek and shaking Harm's hand warmly.  
  
"Hey, Clay. How are ya?" Harm asked as Mac and Annika sat down to eat some fruit and chat.   
  
"Okay, Harm. How about you? Haven't heard your name in any breaking news story. I take it you've been behaving?" Clay asked with a smile. Harm shook his head and pointed his finger at his friend.  
  
"You know, Clay. If the newspapers got hold of everything you actually do, I bet you'd be their cover story" Harm said with a smirk.  
  
"Hey, I'm just a spy" he returned with a faked innocent shrug. Harm rolled his eyes. 'Just a spy' he thought. God help us all. Before a witty reply formed on his mind Clay spoke again. "Hey, how's Bud doing? I just got in and haven't gotten a chance to go by and see him"  
  
Under other circumstances, Harm would've made a crack about the heartless spook caring for something other than the Agency, but Harm knew better than anyone how much Clay had changed since his brother's death. Maybe he'd always been the caring human being he was now. He was just barely starting to let it show.   
  
"He's doing great, Clay. He's already started rehab with his prosthesis, and the doctors say he's way ahead of schedule" Harm said as they walked idly across the grass to where Don was seated having a heated conversation with someone on the phone.   
  
"That's great news, Harm. I'll try and stop by sometime tomorrow, although I don't think we'll have much time to visit with this new case" Clay said as an afterthought and Harm eyed him wearily.  
  
"So that's why we're here isn't it?" Harm asked, no bitterness or indignation in his tone like he would've shown before. Somehow, after Afghanistan, Harm had a much clearer picture of Clay's job and appreciated it all the more. People in the military weren't the only ones making sacrifices for their country. Clay sure had.   
  
"Yeah" Clay answered distractedly as he shot a glance at Annika, who was laughing hard at something Mac had said to her. She sure had a beautiful laugh, and a beautiful smile...hell, she was beautiful, period.   
  
"How are things with Annika?" The question caught Clay off guard and he started thinking of an answer to just change the subject when he caught Harm's knowing stare. Harm had been there for him when Annika had been in the Caribbean and he'd needed someone to talk to. Harm knew. He couldn't lie to him. Not after everything they'd gone through.   
  
"I don't know, Harm. I think we have our friendship back. I like it that way" Clay said and stopped for a second to inspect his choice of footwear. "I was a jerk to her those few weeks after the...you know, Afghanistan" Clay said softly, as if the hushed tone could make it sound any less shameful.  
  
Harm raised one eyebrow. "Tell me something I don't know" he quipped and Clay sighed. This was not easy.  
  
"I don't know. I've tried to be more open with her, you know? And I think she noticed, but she just adjusts to whatever I do and never asks questions. I told her I missed her this afternoon when I picked her up from the airport. You'd think she'd flip and go find a thermometer to check my temperature, but she didn't. She just said 'I missed you too, Clay' and that was that. I know she was wondering what was wrong with me, but she didn't say it" he finished as he continued to gaze in the direction of his best friend. Annika turned, as if feeling his eyes on him, and waved at him and smiled. He waved and turned back to Harm, who seemed to be lost in thought.  
  
"I don't think she knows how to deal with you, Clay. You're gonna have to tell her what you want. That is, if you know" Harm said as he turned fully towards his friend and pierced him with a questioning look. Clay sighed.  
  
"I don't know, Harm. Some days I think I'm ready to throw it all away just for her. And sometimes I think we're not ready" Clay uttered, still amazed at how easily he could talk to Harm about this subject.   
  
"You mean, you are not ready yet" Harm answered, shaking his head at Clay. "Listen, I'm not saying you have to run to her and tell her you love her right now. I'm just saying you need to figure out what you want, and soon" Harm answered and Clay simply nodded.   
  
"I know"  
  
"Why such long faces guys. We haven't talked about the case yet" Annika teased as she reached them, Mac following closely behind her. Joking about their work was a way to diminish the tension and worry that came with it. Harm nodded slightly at Clay and smiled at Annika. They weren't finished talking. They'd just have to do it some other time.   
  
"You folks ready for dinner?" Don asked as he approached them, obviously doing his best to hide his apprehension about the latest happenings concerning Dr. Jones' death. Minutes later they were seated at the dining room table, enjoying their dinner when Don began.  
  
"I think it's time we talk about this, people," he spoke as he turned towards Harm and Mac. "I'm sorry to drag you guys into this, but we need you, especially since our main suspect is as Naval Officer" Don stopped to let that sink in and prepared for the lawyers' questions.  
  
"A naval officer? Who?"  
  
TBC 


	4. Part 4

ABOUT US 3: The Good And The Bad 4/13   
  
  
Author: LeE  
  
e-mail: lee_81881@yahoo.com  
  
Classification: Romance H/M, Clay/Annika   
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Disclaimers: If they belonged to me... no comment. :) JAG is property of DPB and CBS. I'm just having some fun while procrastinating on homework...   
  
Author's Note: This story takes place two months after the events of About Us 2. The rest of the information related to LLNL and the different laboratories mentioned, as well as the current research on Nitrogen bond-dissociation is real, although not nearly as advanced as I make it in the story. Believe me, the world would be a whole lot different. Even though chemistry is a passion of mine, Nitrogen compounds is not my area of expertise; but if anyone is interested in further information about anything mentioned on this story, please don't hesitate to contact me.   
  
Many thanks to my betas, who always do such a great job keeping me motivated... you're the best, guys!...  
  
FROM PART 3  
  
"You folks ready for dinner?" Don asked as he approached them, obviously doing his best to hide his apprehension about the latest happenings concerning Dr. Jones' death. Minutes later they were seated at the dining room table, enjoying their dinner when Don began.  
  
"I think it's time we talk about this, people," he spoke as he turned towards Harm and Mac. "I'm sorry to drag you guys into this, but we need you, especially since our main suspect is as Naval Officer" Don stopped to let that sink in and prepared for the lawyers' questions.  
  
"A naval officer? Who?"  
  
PART 4  
  
"Lt. Jason Fleming" Don informed Harm. Mac turned to him and shook her head letting him know she hadn't heard anything about the Lt. either.   
  
"He's requested JAG representation and you two were assigned. I had nothing to do with it, but when I found out you two would be assigned the case, I decided to fill you in and hope you could help, unofficially of course" Don said and waited for Harm and Mac. They nodded their approval and Don continued, taking the four folders he held in his hand and distributing them around to them. Quickly, the foursome scanned the contents.   
  
"Well, Lt. Fleming was found a few blocks from Dr. Jones' home in Livermore. It's a secluded area, his fingerprints turned up on the NCIS report and we believe he had motive."  
  
"Motive?" Harm and Mac asked simultaneously and Clay rolled his eyes. Even their brains are connected, he thought and smiled inwardly.  
  
"Lt. Fleming is Dr. Fleming's nephew. Dr. Fleming was the Physics N Division leader at LLNL, until he was killed eight months ago. Dr. John March was appointed division leader after his death."   
  
"N Division?"  
  
"N-Division is the one that works with atomic, nuclear and particle physics."  
  
"Livermore is one of the laboratories that works with the DoD, right?" Harm asked.  
  
"Right. National Security." Annika's _expression was thoughtful as she gave away the information she had, and after a few seconds of silence she turned to Clay and spoke.   
  
"I don't get it, Clay. Dr. Jones had nothing to do with N Division research. He was the principal investigator on the molecular and chemical toxicology group. He was an environmentalist at heart. As far as I know, Dr. Jones and Dr. Fleming never worked together, and were little more than acquaintances. What are we missing?"   
  
"How about a personal motive? Maybe something happened between Dr. Jones and Dr. Fleming that only Lt. Fleming knows about. After all, him and his uncle were really close." Clay speculated as Annika nodded in understanding.   
  
"That could be. But, you know people around the lab still talk often about Dr. Fleming's death. I heard a few weeks ago a conversation between two doctors and they were talking about Dr. March and how convenient Dr. Fleming's death had been for him" Annika was speaking almost to herself now, and Clay simply thought about her words.  
  
Don interrupted with a long sigh. "It still doesn't tell us how Dr. Jones fits into all this, and I, by no means buy that Dr. Jones' death was an accident or a robbery. Lt. Fleming knew who Dr. Jones was. If he killed him, he had a reason. We just need to find out what it is, and that's what you" Don said motioning to Harm and Mac "are going to try and figure out while you investigate."   
  
"Wait a minute. Who are Dr. Fleming and Dr. March? And why would it be convenient for March that Fleming died? Besides getting his job, of course" Mac asked not liking being so out of the loop. Annika sighed and handed Mac the folder she'd been given by Clay earlier.  
  
"Well, since you'll find out anyway, I'll spare you the research" Annika answered and took a deep breath before starting on with the story.   
  
"Dr. Fleming was the principal investigator on one of the most promising projects that DoD was funding. It had to do with nitrogen bond breaking and of course, this would be crucial to the developing of nuclear weapons, propellants, and explosives. The details of the investigation are still somewhat classified and very complex, but mainly Dr. Fleming's team was very close to finding a way to synthesize what is called a nitrogen fullerene. It would basically be a molecule composed of sixty nitrogen atoms formed from six units of nitrogen rings. Nitrogen exists in nature as a diatomic molecule, and the triple bond that holds it together it's the second strongest in nature. You might remember from your general chemistry that explosions are in theory exothermic reactions that occur when high-energy bonds in molecules are broken, therefore releasing their energy in the form of mostly heat and sound. If it were possible to create a big enough molecule of nitrogen units, that were stable, then the world of explosives would be changed forever. Apparently, Dr. Fleming's lab team was close enough to successfully synthesizing the nitrogen fullerene, and was preparing to present the findings at the upcoming DARPA convention."  
  
"Okay, so Dr. Fleming was murdered, and CIA thinks it had to do with his research" Harm stated as a clarification and Webb nodded before he spoke.  
  
"That's right. We also believe whoever killed him worked at LLNL. Whether they worked for Dr. Fleming or for another lab team, we don't know. There are some facilities within the building that are shared by different research teams."  
  
"Which brings us to the reason I sent Annika undercover to LLNL" Don interrupted Clay and Harm and Mac fixed their eyes on him.  
  
"So that's where Annika's been" Mac whispered as she tried to digest all the information at once.  
  
"Yes" Annika spoke. "I've been working as a first year graduate student in Dr. Jones' lab."  
  
"You have?" Harm and Mac looked at each other.   
  
"Besides being one of the best, if not the best field agent the Agency has, Annika has a Ph.D in Physical Chemistry from Cal Tech" Clay finished, the note of pride unmistakable in his tone.   
  
Annika shrugged under the admiring stares of her friends. "I know my way around a research lab. Dr. Jones' team focuses mostly on biochemistry, but I did an internship in a similar field my junior year in college. After that, I decided physical chemistry was more my thing, but I could still remember enough of it to fit in as a trainee."  
  
"Physical chemistry?" Mac asked frowning, and raised her eyebrows appreciatively at Annika's nod. "Wow. Sounds...boring. No offense."  
  
Annika smiled knowingly. "None taken. It's a common reaction."  
  
"So, your cover is a first year graduate student from..." Harm trailed off awaiting her explanation.  
  
"Nicole Avery. First year graduate student at University of California, Davis. I'm supposed to be at Livermore only for the summer. It's common for PhD students to take off for a summer to different laboratories. That's my cover. It's been working out great so far. Or at least it was until I found out Dr. Jones is dead" Annika finished shaking her head in disbelief.   
  
"Okay, so they found Lt. Fleming near the scene of the crime, and his fingerprints have been confirmed by NCIS. What do we know about Lt. Fleming?"  
  
"His current duty station is NAS North Island. He requested three days leave and rented a car to go up to Livermore, which is about a seven hour drive from San Diego. He's refused to talk to anyone except his lawyer, which is why you are being sent to Livermore first thing in the morning. All the evidence and other possible suspects have already been gathered by NCIS, so you'll need to take your cue from them. AJ will brief you tomorrow morning and you'll be on your way by noon. Don't worry now. AJ knows what's going on and he's given his consent."  
  
"Let me get this straight. We're being sent to California to investigate even though the state of California has already charged Lt. Fleming with murder. Whatever happened to all those jurisdiction talks?" Harm asked with a smirk before taking another bite of his food.  
  
"Oh, PD was more than happy to hand this one over to the Navy. Annika's going back to Livermore on Monday, so you'll probably cross paths with her during your investigation. With all this new excitement around this case, I figured it'd be good for Nik to have a familiar face or two around," Don finished and Annika rolled her eyes indulgently. When would they all stop trying to protect her?  
  
"Aren't you going to be around too, Clay?" Harm asked curiously. After all, Don had brought Clay back from Afghanistan for this. Clay simply looked to Don for approval, and at his nod he spoke.  
  
"We have reason to believe there is someone at LLNL who's just about to make the sell of his or her life," Clay said and waited for the information to sink in the lawyer's heads.  
  
"You mean there's a spy at LLNL?"   
  
"I don't know about a spy. But that could be a possibility as well. At the moment, we're thinking it's someone who's planning to sell the latest technology secrets to FFChem, a chemical company we've been keeping an eye on for a few years now. There have also been threats identified by the DoD concerning the DARPA convention. But that's expected, so we won't worry about that much and hope our security is good enough to prevent the threats from being materialized. However, if the threats are coming from an insider, then we'll have a field day unless we figure out who it is, and fast."   
  
"I thought you were back in Afghanistan tying up loose ends after the Kabir debacle?" Harm said with a frown.  
  
"Everyone did, Harm" Clay answered easily, not risking at glance in Annika's direction. Harm knew better than to be offended by being kept out of the loop. It was for his own protection and he was grateful for that after all. However, he'd seen Annika's fists clench and unclench on the table. He wouldn't have expected a different reaction from Mac. Although Mac would probably be a little more outspoken about it all, he thought. His partner's voice interrupted his musings.  
  
"Okay, that's fair enough. But if we're going to work together on this, we need to know it all, deal? No secrets," Mac stated as she watched Don and Clay hold a private conversation as they held each other's gaze fiercely. Finally, Clay sighed and looked away.   
  
"Deal" was Clay's quiet response and Mac smiled in return. For all of his heartless spook routines, Clay was as warm and considerate a human being as anyone she'd ever known. Circumstances sure challenged that thought in many occasions, but she'd learned to see behind the mask.   
  
"So, you think we have a good chance of catching whoever it is before the convention?"   
  
"I sure hope so" was Annika's only response as she took her plate and headed towards the kitchen. Don and Harm followed her. Mac was the last one to stand up, and noticing Clay was still intent on piercing a hole on the wall, smiled curiously at him.   
  
"Are you okay, Clay?"   
  
"Uh, yeah. Of course. I'm just..."  
  
"Clay, we'll keep an eye on her. She'll be fine."  
  
Clay smiled slightly and ran a hand through his hair as he met Mac's gaze. "Thanks" was all he said and Mac simply nodded and strode out of the dinning room.   
  
CLAYTON WEBB'S APARTMENT  
LATER THAT EVENING  
  
"I have to go back in the morning" Clay spoke quietly as Annika switched off the TV after the movie had ended.   
  
"I know" was her casual response and Clay sighed. Her walls were up, and there was nothing he could do about it.   
  
"I need to talk to you, Nik" his words were barely above a whisper, but she heard them all the same.  
  
"Then talk, Webb" she attempted a smile, but it didn't reach her eyes.  
  
"Annika, I know you're still mad at me for not telling you what I was doing in Afghanistan, but..."  
  
Annika shook her head in resignation. She'd been holding it in for days now and it just had to come out. It would sooner or later, so she figured she'd get it out of the way.   
  
"Clay, you always know where I am and what I'm doing. If I don't tell you, Don sure as hell does. I don't appreciate being lied to, even if it is because of your misguided ideas that I need to be protected. I want to know what's going on, Clay. Why didn't you tell me? You know damn well it wouldn't have affected my performance undercover. If anything, it would've given me a clue as to what I was looking for. I've been out there for 4 weeks now, simply standing around, trying to feel my way in when I could've had most of this resolved by now if I'd known what the real threat was. Is there something about this investigation you don't trust me with?" her voice was quite but the underlying hurt was more than visible to him, and it tore at his heart.   
  
"No! You know I trust you completely. We've been partners and best friends for seven years, Annika. How can you even ask me that?" His eyes were wide with surprise as much as fear. The woman could turn a drop of rain into a raging storm if he didn't choose his words carefully. And that, he thought, was the reason emotional talks like this one were avoided. For her part, Annika had almost enjoyed the look on his face after her burst of honesty. Almost.  
  
"Power down there, spook. I'm sorry. I know you trust me, as I do you. It's just..." Annika hesitated, knowing it was now or never. She'd been trying to simply follow his lead the past couple of months. But he was confusing the hell out of her, and she'd had enough.  
  
"It's just what?"   
  
"I just don't know how to figure you out anymore, Clay. You've been so unpredictable lately. I don't know what to expect, and I...it just feels like we're back to square one."   
  
"I know. I'm sorry, Nik. I know it's been hard for you. Listen, I know why you took that assignment down in the Caribbean last month, and I'm sorry I didn't stop you. God, you could've been killed and..."  
  
Annika gasped and shot up from the couch. "Clay, stop it. We never talk about this and you know it. Danger is just part of what we do, and we agreed years ago to just roll with it and deal with things as they come." Her hands were a bit shaky, and she cursed under her breath when her attempts at steadying them failed.   
  
"I just... I just don't want to lose you, Annika"   
  
Well, that certainly made her hands stop shaking. She froze. It would've been less surprising if Don called her and told her he'd resigned. Annika was under no illusions that she didn't care for Clay. On a good honest day, she could even admit to herself she loved him. The fact they cared for each other was always understood between them, but it was never spoken of. They didn't dwell on it. At least she didn't. She couldn't afford to.   
  
Clay had been silent ever since his astounding utter, and Annika could almost see the thoughts running around wildly in his head. Taking a deep breath, she neared the couch once again and lowered herself next to him.   
  
"Listen to me, Clay" she stated firmly, taking his hand between both her smaller ones. "I'm gonna say this only once. You and I both love our jobs. We know why we do this, and we also know all the risks that come with it. We are not giving this up because of fear. There are enough people out there who are incapable of handling what we do, but we're not them. We can do this, and we will. Our country needs us to stay objective and to perform our duties to the best of our abilities, and I for one, won't let fear keep me from doing what I know I'm good at. And you won't either. I won't let you."  
  
"Nik..." she stopped him with a finger to his lips. Wrapping her arms around him she held him close. She'd known that at some point all the insecurities and fear awakened by the sudden appearance of his twin brother would take their toll on his sanity. But, damn it, now was as bad a time as any for him to start doubting, not only his own abilities, but hers as well. It would pass, she concluded. He just needed to talk about it; get it all out once and for all and then he'd be all back to normal.   
  
"We've been through too much to give it up now" she whispered near his ear, and Clay simply nodded against her shoulder. If only she knew what he really meant. It wasn't her dying on the job that scared him. Not really. That was just a part of it. It was losing her without ever really having her that haunted his dreams at night. Losing her without ever really having her, just like he'd lost his brother.   
  
"Now, come on spy boy. What do you say we watch that other movie I got?" she cheerfully stated as he shot her a frustrated look.  
  
"Niiiiiik. Not that "Bad Company" movie. Please!"   
  
"Oh, don't be such a baby. It's funny, and you know it. You just don't like it 'cause it reminds you of your days as a new recruit, Webbie boy" Clay groaned at her use of the nickname and Annika simply laughed.   
  
"All right, but you owe me one, Ms. Vranch" he answered already resigned to his fate and watched in silent admiration as Annika stood up and inserted the tape, turning to him and offering a broad grin.   
  
"Clay?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"You need a haircut"  
  
He looked sideways with weary eyes. "Do I, now?"  
  
"Yes"  
  
"I'll make sure and get one before I leave tomorrow." His dead-pan face made her laugh.   
  
"Good" She managed between chuckles.   
  
"Anything else?" His eyebrows rose as he turned fully towards her.   
  
Her smile turned wicked. "Well, you also need a pedicure, but I'll let your mother take care of that."  
  
"Nik!"   
  
Her laughter reached his ears and he couldn't help but join her. It was good to have their friendship back; so good, and yet so frustrating that friendship was all it was. Bittersweet.  
  
TBC 


	5. Part 5

ABOUT US 3: The Good And The Bad 5/14   
  
  
Author: LeE  
  
e-mail: lee_81881@yahoo.com  
  
Classification: Romance H/M, Clay/Annika   
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Disclaimers: If they belonged to me... no comment. :) JAG is property of DPB and CBS. I'm just having some fun while procrastinating on homework...   
  
Author's Note: This story takes place two months after the events of About Us 2. The rest of the information related to LLNL and the different laboratories mentioned, as well as the current research on Nitrogen bond-dissociation is real, although not nearly as advanced as I make it in the story. Believe me, the world would be a whole lot different. Even though chemistry is a passion of mine, Nitrogen compounds is not my area of expertise; but if anyone is interested in further information about anything mentioned on this story, please don't hesitate to contact me.   
  
Many thanks to my betas, who always do such a great job keeping me motivated... you're the best, guys!...  
FROM PART 4  
  
"Clay?"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"You need a haircut"  
  
He looked sideways with weary eyes. "Do I, now?"  
  
"Yes"  
  
"I'll make sure and get one before I leave tomorrow." His deadpan face made her laugh.   
  
"Good" She managed between chuckles.   
  
"Anything else?" His eyebrows rose as he turned fully towards her.   
  
Her smile turned wicked. "Well, you also need a pedicure, but I'll let your mother take care of that."  
  
"Nik!"   
  
Her laughter reached his ears and he couldn't help but join her. It was good to have their friendship back; so good, and yet so frustrating that friendship was all it was. Bittersweet.  
  
PART 5  
  
LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY  
LIVERMORE, CA  
THURSDAY JUNE 6, 2002  
2305 EST  
  
"Hi honey" the sultry feminine voice inundated his ears and he tensed up at once.   
  
"Are you crazy? You can't call me here and you know it. Are you trying to ruin everything?" Michael's voice had risen considerably as he spoke and taking a deep breath he reminded himself that he needed to do this, that it would only be for a little while longer until his purpose was fulfilled.   
  
"Ohh, you're no fun. We haven't been together in a long time and I thought..." she trailed off and he closed his eyes as he willed the words out of his mouth.   
  
"Listen to me. I know we've been apart for a while. I'm sorry. I promise I'll make it up to you, but for now I need you to concentrate on this okay?"  
  
"Okay" she answered with a long disappointed sigh. "But once we're done with this madness you're all mine" her voice lower this time and he fought the urge to hang up and throw it all away, but he couldn't. He hadn't meant for Dr. Jones to get hurt. But the old man got in the way and there was nothing he could do. He was almost there. Almost. A few more weeks and N Division research would finally be history. Now he had to figure out how to get rid of his new problem. March.   
  
JAG HQ  
FRIDAY JUNE 7, 2002  
0934 EST  
  
"At ease" the Admiral spoke evenly as he studied the pair in front of him. 'These two are gonna be the death of me. And God help us all when they're married' he thought and with a rueful smile turned his attention to Harm and Mac once again.  
  
"So, you've got orders to go and represent a Lt. Jason Fleming down in California. I gather you've read the file and know what to expect, correct?"  
  
"Yes, Sir" Harm answered and Mac simply nodded her assent.  
  
"Well, I guess the only thing I can say is good luck and keep me the hell informed. I don't wanna be hearing about my senior officers on the evening news, got it?" the Admiral finished, his voice still as stern as it usually was, but a hint of fatherly concern radiating through every word. Harm and Mac hid their smiles and answered.  
  
"Understood, Sir"  
  
"Good. Dismissed"  
  
"Aye, aye Sir" they answered and turned on their heels to leave. The Admiral's voice stopped them before opening the thick wood door.  
  
"Uh, take care okay? I think two life or death experiences is more than your annual quota, don't you?"  
  
Harm and Mac nodded with a hint of a smile on their faces. "Yes, Sir"  
  
The Admiral simply nodded and turned away as they exited his office. If someone had told him seven years ago that those two would be like family to him he'd have laughed. Furthermore, if anyone had told him seven years, hell, a year ago that he'd find himself worrying about Clay as much as he worried about Harm and Mac, then he would've readily recommended a psych evaluation. However, the truth was, that they did feel like family to him, even Annika, whom he'd met only a few short months before. Suddenly, sitting in that big ole' chair didn't feel quite that bad. There was more to his life than issuing orders and scaring poor junior officers with his sometimes gruff tone. Closing his eyes for a moment, he wished they would all get out of this mess as well as they'd done before.  
  
DULLES INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT  
1105 EST  
  
"Harm" No response.  
  
"Harm!" Shaking his head a little he turned towards her and offered a sheepish smile.   
  
"I, uh, got distracted watching the planes. Sorry." He knew his excuse would fly well with anyone else. Anyone else but Mac. She knew he loved planes, but he wasn't that much in love with 747's that he'd forget she was sitting right next to him. She sighed. 'Here we go again' she thought before she spoke again.  
  
"Harm, are you all right?"   
  
"Of course, Mac. Listen..." he stopped to run a hurried hand over his face as he took a deep breath and continued. "I know you're worried. There's something that's been bothering me for a while now, but I'm trying to figure it out, Mac. I swear to you I'm trying. I just...need more time" the last few words spoken so softly she never would've heard if she weren't hanging on his every word.   
  
"Is it me? Is it us? Are you..." She was pretty sure she had an idea of what was on his mind, but she was not going to force him to talk.   
  
"NO! No. It's not us. I'm happy with what we are. Ecstatic would be more fitting. It's not you either, it's not anyone really, I just... need to figure out where it's all coming from," he answered as truthfully as he could and met her worried gaze with a pleading one.  
  
"I told you, Harm. I'll wait for you to talk about whatever is bothering you, but I'll be here while I wait. You're not getting rid of me with that 'I need more time' line this time. Other women? Yes. Me? No."  
  
Nodding somberly he reached out and grasped her hand in his, squeezing softly to let her know he appreciated her support. His eyes told her everything she needed to know. He needed her. He needed her to be there for him, no questions asked, and that's exactly what she would do.   
  
Minutes later, their flight was called and she looked on with a grim expression on her face as Harm stalled and waited until they were the last ones to board the plane. Whatever happened to 'eager to fly' Harm? Dismissing his attitude as simply rare, she looked away and continued waiting for their turn to board. She couldn't really make much sense of it at the moment, but something about him was making her uneasy. Sometimes she would get these vibes from him, a special connection they shared. Like the time she found him on the ocean after his crash. That inexplicable connection was sure trying to tell her something now.   
  
She watched him cautiously as they boarded the plane, and once the engines were turned on and the plane began take off, he reached out and clasped her hand almost painfully in his.   
  
Her mind wandered back to the night before. She remembered his restlessness. His face contorted in agony as he fought in his sleep to keep the tears from falling. Thoughts of the nightmares he'd had after Afghanistan plagued her once again.   
  
"Harm" her soft whisper broke through his thoughts and he squeezed her hand harder as he held his eyes shut for a few seconds before opening them up and looking sideways at her.   
  
"Mac, I...I don't know what's going on. I think...I need to figure it out, I..." he was speaking more to himself than her and she recognized his attempt at letting her in. Knowing how hard it was for him to open up and admit confusion- not professionally, but personally- she simply held his hand as well, drawing small shapely figures in the back of his hand with her fingertips as she knew he liked. His face was a mass of mixed up feelings and emotions and he had let his guard down enough for her to see it, for her to share in it, for her to help, or try to at least.   
  
However, right at the moment, her heart wanted nothing more than to take him in her arms and carry him away to a place where he wouldn't feel the way he did; to a place where his past decisions and actions didn't keep him awake at night; a place where his insecurities couldn't mar the incredible man that he really was. She sighed. There wasn't such a place. There was just the here and now, so what would she do to help? At the moment, letting him know she was there seemed like the only thing to do, and it frustrated her beyond anything she could've imagined that she couldn't do more.   
  
"It's okay, Harm. We don't have to figure this out right now. We'll take our time. Now, how about you let me hold you while you get some rest, flyboy. You didn't sleep a wink last night."   
  
"I didn't mean to keep you awake, I just..." his apology was halted immediately by her raised hand.  
  
"I didn't say you kept me awake. I just said that I know you didn't sleep" she sighed. This was not the time to tell him she knew about his nightmares. In his sleep, he would start tossing and turning, she'd wake up, hold him close, and he'd calm down after a few minutes. He never remembered it in the morning, and if he did, he never said anything.   
  
"Harm I can feel when you're in pain, when you're worried, when you're happy, too. I wish I could take whatever it is that's bothering you away somehow. But I can't. Well, at least not yet. I've been trying to let you work through this alone, but I can't bear to see you like this and know I'm not doing anything to make it better..."  
  
"Sarah, baby. You make everything better. You make everything just...perfect. You always have" his words were accompanied by a tender caress of his hand through her hair and she melted inside from the warmth she found in him.   
  
"I love you, Harm" that was all she could think to say as she fought to keep her tears at bay. Reaching out, she enveloped him in her arms, and he willingly let her hold him, not caring who saw even though they were in uniform. The plane was pretty empty anyway.   
  
"I love you too, Sarah. Thank you"  
  
With a soft kiss to his forehead she sighed and rested her head on top of his. The seat near the window was empty, so he had some space to slide sideways enough to rest his head on her shoulder.  
  
"No need to thank me, Harm. Now how about you get some rest, Sailor. We've got some tough stuff ahead this week" Harm only nodded. Feeling instantly tired and letting his eyes close around the comfort her arms offered. A tug of war was going on inside him. If he loved this woman so much, if her mere presence could calm the raging storm inside him, if her touch could take him places he'd never been before, then why couldn't he just let her in completely? Because every time he tried to tell her about his dreams, his heart ached. But why?  
  
LIVERMORE, CA  
1606 PT  
  
"I swear to you, Sir. I did not kill him" the young man spoke convincingly to Harm and Mac as the first hour of their interview came to a close.  
  
"Calm down, Lieutenant. We are not here to prosecute just yet. As I've said before, we're here to investigate. Now, you've given us some valuable information. However, because you were found near the scene of the crime, and your fingerprints were identified on both the weapon and a few other objects in the crime scene, you will be transferred into our custody, or rather the Navy's."  
  
"So, I'm going to the brig, Sir?" Lt. Fleming answered dejectedly.  
  
"I'm afraid so. However, we will make sure we go over all the facts ourselves once more and then we'll figure out how to best help you, okay?" this time it was Mac who attempted to calm the obviously distressed young man.   
  
"Understood, ma'am"  
  
"Good. We'll see you in a couple of days then, Lt." Harm said as they rose to leave.   
  
"I have a weird feeling about this one, Harm" Mac said once the doors closed and they were safely inside their vehicle.   
  
"Me too, Mac. I mean, the evidence seems so clear, but that's exactly what's wrong. It's all too perfect, don't you think? I mean, the fingerprints, the timing..."  
  
"...Lt. Fleming's relationship to the deceased Dr. Fleming who just happened to work in the same building as Dr. Jones. Still, what does Dr. Jones have to do with Dr. March being head of the N Division after Dr. Fleming's death?" Mac sighed as she ran a hand through her face. This case was getting more and more complicated. There were just too many variables to control.   
  
Harm was still having trouble connecting the dots. "So, here's what we've got. Lt. Fleming got a call on Tuesday morning. He was told there was information about his father's whereabouts and was given the address to meet someone who would give it to him. Lt. Fleming's father disappeared three years ago, and so he didn't hesitate in going after he received the call. He gets to the place and it turns out to be the corner of Dr. Jones' residence. Five minutes after he arrives police are all over him and arrest him as a suspect. NCIS comes in Wednesday afternoon, a few hours after the murder, they check for fingerprints and find they belong to Lt. Fleming. Now he's charged with murder and we need to finish up the investigation and make recommendations to the Admiral. What are we missing?" he finished with a wave of his hand. Mac laughed sarcastically.  
  
"What are we missing? Ha! Try the real killer. I don't believe he killed him, Harm. I just keep getting this idea he was set up. But by who?"   
  
"I don't know, Mac. Maybe it's time we called up Webb and see what we can figure out" Harm finished as they drove into the parking lot of their hotel.   
  
"I agree. But first..."  
  
"I know, I know. I have to feed you" Harm said with a smile and Mac hit him lightly in the arm.  
  
"Yes, Sailor. That would be correct"  
  
"Figures"  
  
"Well, I thought I should keep my energy levels up you know..." Harm wiggled his eyebrows a few times and Mac laughed "for the investigation, Harmon" she finished and laughed at his deflated expression.   
  
CIA HEADQUARTERS  
LANGLEY, VIRGINIA  
  
"Annika, when are you planning on cleaning up your desk?"   
  
"When yours gets dirty."  
  
Clay snorted. "Right."  
  
"Damn it, it's in here somewhere."   
  
"Somewhere. Now, *that* narrows it down."   
  
"You're pissing me off, Clay" She warned him, and at that point, he had no clue whether she was serious or not. But she wasn't the only one with a temper around here.   
  
"Good. Channel your anger and find the damn file."  
  
Annika huffed in silent aggravation. Rarely did Clay have the upper hand in their arguments. Today was his lucky day.   
  
"You should go. I'll fax it to you when I find it. You're gonna miss your flight." Annika said from her place in the floor where she hoped to find the file among the pile that rested next to her desk.  
  
"My flight's three hours away. We're having dinner first."  
  
"No"  
  
"No?"  
  
"You heard me."  
  
"You're not mad at me, are ya?" His hands came together, and his fingers intertwined nervously a few times before she spoke.   
  
"Didn't I say you were pissing me off already?"  
  
It wasn't anger. It was frustration. "Right. So, are you mad at me?" His cheeky smile would've made her smile if she'd seen it.  
  
"Clay, you...." She stopped speaking and rose from the floor, the coveted file in her hand, and with a triumphant smile handed it to him.   
  
"Well, I must say I'm impressed. It only took us...one hour and thirty eight minutes to find a file in your office."  
  
"Hmm." The dissatisfied sound coming from her lips as she swiped at her pants. "Harm and Mac are supposed to call soon."  
  
Clay nodded. "They are. Think they'll let up on each other long enough to make the call?" Clay quipped and braced himself for Annika's answer.  
  
"Clayton Webb!"   
  
Clay laughed. "Oh, come on. You know how they are."  
  
"They're in love."  
  
"I know. It's just that their relationship can get a little...uhh...intense at times." Clay spoke with a grin spreading on his face. He was genuinely happy for his friends. Didn't mean he couldn't exercise his right to mess with them every now and then.   
  
"Intense sounds like watts per square meter to me." She turned to hide her smile from him.   
  
He groaned. "Don't start. I hate chemistry."   
  
"That's not chemistry. That's physics." Score one for the redhead.  
  
"Same thing."  
  
"Now that's blasphemy" Her brow was furrowed, but her eyes were full of laughter.  
  
"Aaaaaaannnika...."  
  
Annika turned and regarded him with a raised eyebrow, deciding to let him off the hook for now. "Stop whining and get moving. I'm hungry."  
  
"Good Lord, thank you!" Annika's laughter followed him out of the office.  
  
TBC 


	6. Part 6

ABOUT US 3: The Good And The Bad 6/14  
  
  
Author: LeE  
  
e-mail: lee_81881@yahoo.com  
  
Classification: Romance H/M, Clay/Annika   
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Disclaimers: If they belonged to me... no comment. :) JAG is property of DPB and CBS. I'm just having some fun while procrastinating on homework...   
  
Author's Note: This story takes place two months after the events of About Us 2. The rest of the information related to LLNL and the different laboratories mentioned, as well as the current research on Nitrogen bond-dissociation is real, although not nearly as advanced as I make it in the story. Believe me, the world would be a whole lot different. Even though chemistry is a passion of mine, Nitrogen compounds is not my area of expertise; but if anyone is interested in further information about anything mentioned on this story, please don't hesitate to contact me.   
  
Many thanks to my betas, who always do such a great job keeping me motivated... you're the best, guys!...  
  
FROM PART 5  
  
"They're in love."  
  
"I know. It's just that their relationship can get a little...uhh...intense at times." Clay spoke with a grin spreading on his face. He was genuinely happy for his friends. Didn't mean he couldn't exercise his right to mess with them every now and then.   
  
"Intense sounds like watts per square meter to me." She turned to hide her smile from him.   
  
He groaned. "Don't start. I hate chemistry."   
  
"That's not chemistry. That's physics." Score one for the redhead.  
  
"Same thing."  
  
"Now that's blasphemy" Her brow was furrowed, but her eyes were full of laughter.  
  
"Aaaaaaannnika...."  
  
Annika turned and regarded him with a raised eyebrow, deciding to let him off the hoof for now. "Stop whining and get moving. I'm hungry."  
  
"Good Lord, thank you!" Annika's laughter followed him out of the office.  
PART 6  
  
LIVERMORE, CA  
2035 PT  
  
Harm made his way, slowly towards the door that connected his room to Mac's. Standing in the doorway, he took a moment to admire the woman lying on the bed. The soft white sheets were tangled lightly with her arms and legs as she occupied the left side of the bed. The gentle stream of moonlight bathed the exposed skin of her neck and face and Harm shifted from one foot to another as he tried to decide what to do. Should he simply leave her to sleep peacefully like she was now? Or should he indulge himself and join her?   
  
"Hmmm, Harm?"  
  
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."  
  
"Come here" was her garbled command and at once he was at her side. Slowly she turned and gracefully wrapped herself around him, loving the feeling of security she always found in his arms. Careful not to move too much, Harm brought her closer to him as his arms snaked around her and lifted her slowly towards him until she was sprawled on top of him. Lifting her head slightly, Mac smiled in recognition of the familiar gesture as she placed a gentle kiss on his chin.  
  
"Sleep, baby" he whispered against her hair and she sighed contentedly, surrendering to the blissfulness of sleep in his arms.   
  
Harm was anything but sleepy. Minutes before he'd finished talking to Annika and she'd had some important things to say that he needed to discuss with Mac. But that could wait until later after she got some sleep. Even though she'd said otherwise, he knew she hadn't been sleeping all that much lately with his restlessness at night. They didn't really spend every night together, but the past week they'd needed each other too much to deny themselves the comfort of each other's arms. Comfort. How he wished her comfort was all he needed right now.  
  
Where had it all started? If he were to really be honest with himself, he'd have to say it started the year before, after his crash the night before her wedding. Those numerous hours spent in the cold stormy Atlantic Ocean had given him enough time to think through some things. Once again, flying had put him in a life or death situation. Once again, flying had come between him and Mac. If he hadn't had his quals as an excuse, maybe he would've been brave enough to talk to Mac before the wedding. Maybe he wouldn't have needed those months of recovery afterwards and she wouldn't have run to the Indian Ocean trying to get away from him. She wouldn't have been almost killed at the Embassy, he would've broken up with Renee instead of stringing her along that long. But there were too many what ifs to deal with now.   
  
Closing his eyes he remembered the day he'd told Mac he loved her. He remembered kissing her in the middle of her office. He remembered the talk they'd had later that night. He remembered her telling him how proud of him she was. How she loved him, all of him. He'd insisted on giving up flying so they could have a future together, and she'd vehemently argued that flying was a part of him and that she loved Harm the fighter pilot as much as she loved Harm the lawyer. He'd thought it a little weird that she'd take that position, especially after all that had happened between them after he returned to flying a few years back. His change of designator was the root of all their communication problems. It was the reason they'd distanced themselves; the reason the awkwardness and hesitancy had woven their way through their friendship until there had been nothing left but polite greetings at the office. Why had she been so hell bent on him not giving up flying?   
  
That was something he'd need to talk to her about someday, but for now, he needed to figure out why his upcoming quals were causing such a mental havoc. Yes. He figured his quals were part of the reason he had one foot in that padded cell at Bethesda. His latest nightmare had hinted at it, and the apprehension he'd felt while flying that morning had confirmed it. Squeezing his eyes shut, he tried to get a handle on it once again.   
  
Thoughts racing, hands shaking slightly, Harm fought the urge to run. His rational side was telling him that Mac didn't deserve a washed up jet jock like himself who could do nothing but keep her awake at night with his nightmares and problems. But his heart spoke differently, telling him that Mac loved him; that whatever happened to him she would want to help with; that nothing could hurt her worse than him shutting her out. And that's exactly what he was doing. He was shutting her out; refusing to let her in completely for fear of hurting her. Was that really what scared him? His mind told him it was, but his heart said otherwise. He already knew shutting her out would hurt her worse than anything he could do. Then why didn't he let her in? Did he want to hurt Mac? God no! What was it then?   
  
LIVERMORE, CA  
SATURDAY, JUNE 8, 2002  
0204 PT  
  
"Oh God, Michael" she moaned as he moved above her. It had taken her some time to convince him, but finally she'd gotten him where she wanted him. Now he was driving her crazy with desire, and she could swear she'd do anything for him. Anything. Not that she hadn't already. What he'd asked of her earlier that week was sure a big thing, but if it got her to the place she was now, she didn't care. She'd do it over in a heartbeat.   
  
Michael closed his eyes as his breathing slowed. Sex was okay with her. Not really a scene from a romance novel, but he could live with it. Her, on the other hand, worshipped him, and he patted himself on the back for making this choice. Having her back in his life was the best thing he'd ever done. He'd figure out how to get rid of her sooner or later.  
  
Michael Ashton wasn't entirely proud of what he was doing. Somewhere deep down, he could still hear the Minister's voice on Sundays at church as he talked about loving one another, even as he tried to convince himself he was doing the world a favor by hating.   
  
Michael's father had been a devoted church member, and had done his best to instill those beliefs in his son. He worshipped his father, and anything his father did was good in his eyes. There wasn't much Dr. Jeffrey Ashton did wrong. He'd devoted his life to being the best person he could be. He was a caring father, a loving husband, and a prominent scientist. Michael admired his father, and had worked hard to follow in his footsteps. What had become of him after his father's death no one would have ever guessed.   
  
She just lay there afterwards, once again berating herself for being so weak; for lacking the strength to say no; for lacking the self-esteem to refuse him and send him on his way. But after waiting all those years to have him, she couldn't let it end so fast. She was under no illusions that he loved her. He probably didn't even like her. No one did. But he was willing to sleep with her. He was willing to have sex with her, to share with her the most intimate of moments between two people. So what if he didn't love her? What if he didn't even like her? He needed her, and that was the best feeling she'd ever had. Michael Ashton needed her.   
  
Without another word, he raised from the bed as she admired his naked form across the room. She rose as well, but he didn't bother to look. There was nothing there he liked, nothing at all.   
  
LLNL  
MONDAY JUNE 10, 2002  
0934 PT  
  
It was an ordinary day; the start of another week. Another week that would see lab meetings, deadlines, successes as well as frustrations. But along with all the normal every day happenings, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory would experience the aftermath of another loss. The changes had not been easy to get used to eight months ago after Dr. Fleming's brutal death. It was different when a scientist transferred, or resigned, or even when a co-worker was fired. Death, however, was not as easy to get past.   
  
Change was a common thing at the laboratory, as it is in every competitive institution. But change can be a good thing or a bad thing. Change can mean progress as well as regression. No one would doubt that Dr. March's performance as head of N Division since Dr. Fleming's death was more than acceptable. The project had barely fallen behind on schedule by a few weeks, and was now moving ahead satisfactorily towards a successful unveiling at the DARPA convention in a few weeks. Now it was a matter of time until it could be decided whether Dr. Jones' death would be handled with the same spirit as Dr. Fleming's.   
  
As these thoughts ran across her mind, Annika made her way through the main hallway at the place that had become her second home the past month. Slowing down her hurried steps, she reached the main entrance and looking once over her shoulder to utter a quick greeting to the guard, she punched in her code. A familiar beeping noise was heard, and the heavy metal door opened slowly to allow her access.   
  
A few more seconds and she was at her workbench, glancing around to make sure everything was in order. A general lab meeting had been called for ten o'clock that morning and with a swift look at the clock she noticed she had a few minutes until then. Her lab notebook was back where it always was after Dr. Jones had examined it the week before. She remembered it had already been in its right place on Wednesday night when she'd managed to skirt around security to check out Dr. March's office one last time.   
  
At the time, she had been oblivious to Dr. Jones' death earlier that afternoon, and she had simply followed her usual routine. Using Dr. March's entrance code, she had sneaked in and gone over his research files. Notes were written in scrambled patterns in the different labeled lab notebooks Dr. March kept locked in his safe box. They all contained the original data from Dr. Fleming's research on nitrogen bond breaking. Starting with computer models of the nitrogen fullerene, on to more palpable data, until recent notebooks held the secrets of the synthesis of possibly the most important molecule in the history of nitrogen chemistry. She'd studied the information for hours, until her watch had informed her with subtle vibrations that it was time to go. Almost four in the morning. She'd taken her time to put everything away the exact same way she'd found it and right before closing the door to leave she'd seen a picture of Dr. March and Dr. Fleming, shaking hands at a national chemistry meeting a few years before. Annika had smiled sadly. March couldn't have had anything to do with Fleming's death.   
  
Now, sitting in her chair, the sound of footsteps brought her back from her thoughts and she turned to see the familiar face approach her bench.   
  
"Planning on being late to the meeting, Nicole?"   
  
"Oh, not at all" Annika answered with a smile. "I was just sitting here thinking over some things. How was your weekend?" she asked nicely as she picked up her paper pad and a pen.   
  
"Good. Still can't believe Dr. Jones won't be around anymore" he said, looking genuinely saddened and Annika simply nodded.   
  
"I know what you mean. It's hard to believe someone could do that to him. Such a nice man, and an exceptional scientist too" Annika said thoughtfully, watching casually for his reaction. No one was above her suspicions when it came to this lab.   
  
"Yes. A shame" he answered with a shake of his head. Annika simply watched him as he stared off down the hall. He was tall, but not too tall. Then again there weren't too many men shorter than her, she thought with an inward smile. His hair was a light shade of blonde, and his piercing blue eyes were apparently his most endearing attribute. At least she'd heard as much from the women around the lab. Incredible the things you could find out at lunch time around here, she thought.   
  
He was polite, charming, and very talkative; not to be considered a big mouth, though. He knew what to talk about, and had a reputation for never speaking without thinking first. His oral presentations at lab meetings were held in high regards by most of the staff at the institution, and like him, his father before him had followed the path of research, having being a key player in many of LLNL's biggest research projects in past years until his death in 1997. All in all, he was as promising a scientist as any the lab had ever seen.  
  
"Shall we?" Annika spoke just as the two military officers rounded the corner and spotted her.   
  
"Good morning." Harm spoke as they came closer to the pair. Annika locked eyes with them and smiled politely. They'd spoken the night before and she was ready for their visit, but she hadn't known of the impromptu lab meeting that would be called that morning.   
  
"Good morning. May I help you?" Annika spoke and Harm and Mac nodded at once. Most of the staff was already at the auditorium, so there was few people around. It didn't seem suspicious at all they'd come straight to her.   
  
"Yes. I'm Commander Harmon Rabb, Jr. and this is my partner, Lt. Col. Sarah Mackenzie. We're with the JAG corps, and we are looking for a Nicole Avery. I assume that's you" Harm finished with a smile, his finger pointing towards Annika's lab coat, which she had put on minutes before. Her name was printed in bright red block letters in the left side and she smiled as she looked down at it and back up at the pair.   
  
"Uh, yes. That would be me. I assume this is regarding the death of Dr. Jones" she finished with a sad smile. Undercover or not, she was truly moved and appalled by what had happened to the poor man.   
  
"Yes, it is. We're sorry. We know it may not be the best time, but we'd appreciate it if you could spare a few minutes of your time to speak with us," this time Mac spoke, shooting a quick glance towards the man standing with an unreadable expression next to Annika.   
  
"Well, a lab meeting has been called for ten o'clock, which is four minutes away. Is it possible you could come back in about an hour? The meeting shouldn't take more than that" she explained and Harm and Mac read in her expression she meant just that. It was a change of plans, but they could handle it. They couldn't do much else without speaking to her first, after all.   
  
"Of course. We understand. That would be no problem at all. We'll see you in an hour then" Harm spoke and Annika simply nodded with a smile.  
  
"That would be great. Oh, where are my manners" she said with an embarrassed smile and turned towards the man next to her. "Commander, Colonel, this is Dr. Michael Ashton."  
  
TBC 


	7. Part 7

ABOUT US 3: The Good And The Bad 7/14  
  
  
Author: LeE  
  
e-mail: lee_81881@yahoo.com  
  
Classification: Romance H/M, Clay/Annika   
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Disclaimers: If they belonged to me... no comment. :) JAG is property of DPB and CBS. I'm just having some fun while procrastinating on homework...   
  
Author's Note: This story takes place two months after the events of About Us 2. The rest of the information related to LLNL and the different laboratories mentioned, as well as the current research on Nitrogen bond-dissociation is real, although not nearly as advanced as I make it in the story. Believe me, the world would be a whole lot different. Even though chemistry is a passion of mine, Nitrogen compounds is not my area of expertise; but if anyone is interested in further information about anything mentioned on this story, please don't hesitate to contact me.   
  
Many thanks to my betas, who always do such a great job keeping me motivated... you're the best, guys!...  
  
AN2: Half way there guys! :)   
  
FROM PART 6  
  
"Uh, yes. That would be me. I assume this is regarding the death of Dr. Jones" she finished with a sad smile. Undercover or not, she was truly moved and appalled by what had happened to the poor man.   
  
"Yes, it is. We're sorry. We know it may not be the best time, but we'd appreciate it if you could spare a few minutes of your time to speak with us," this time Mac spoke, shooting a quick glance towards the man standing with an unreadable _expression next to Annika.   
  
"Well, a lab meeting has been called for ten o'clock, which is four minutes away. Is it possible you could come back in about an hour? The meeting shouldn't take more than that" she explained and Harm and Mac read in her _expression she meant just that. It was a change of plans, but they could handle it. They couldn't do much else without speaking to her first, after all.   
  
"Of course. We understand. That would be no problem at all. We'll see you in an hour then" Harm spoke and Annika simply nodded with a smile.  
  
"That would be great. Oh, where are my manners" she said with an embarrassed smile and turned towards the man next to her. "Commander, Colonel, this is Dr. Michael Ashton."  
  
PART 7  
  
"A pleasure to meet you, Commander, Colonel. Not to imply we're strangers to military personnel, but there aren't many female Marines sporting oak leaves around these days. I'm impressed," Michael commented with a smile and Mac returned it, immediately recognizing the man's attempt at conversation. Turning slightly, she caught Harm's hard stare and at once he relaxed.   
  
"Well, people usually are, Dr. Ashton" Harm said nonchalantly, but the fire in his eyes was not lost on Michael and he nodded with a smile.  
  
"I figured as much," he returned, averting his eyes and motioning towards the empty hallway he turned to Annika. "You coming, Nicole?"   
  
"Of course. Well, nice meeting you. See you later, then" she finished and turned to walk away after Michael, but not before shooting a lopsided grin their way, which Harm saw more as a smirk.   
  
Mac said nothing as they watched the pair walk away. Harm was simply standing there, hands at his side, his cover dangling dangerously from one of them. Mac simply held her hands behind her back, twirling her cover between her fingers, a grin barely suppressed.  
  
"I don't like him" he said calmly a few seconds later and Mac erupted in laughter at once. Harm's eyes widened as he looked sideways at her.   
  
"I'm serious, Mac. I really don't like him. He just..."  
  
"What, Harm? You don't even know the man" she managed to say in between chuckles. "Just because he hit on me doesn't mean he's a bad person or that he killed Dr. Jones. You're just jealous" she spoke, trying her hardest not to laugh at his disbelief. Harm was so oblivious to things sometimes it just tickled her all over.   
  
"I am not jealous. It has nothing to do with him hitting on you or...He was not hitting on you. I would've broken his...his...something if he had hit on you. It's just the way he...oh I don't know. I just got a weird vibe from him, that's all" he finished matter-of-factly, staring down the hall and nodding his head as if agreeing with his own statement. Mac laid a hand over his arm and nodded indulgently.   
  
"Okay" was all she said as she turned away to walk back towards the exit.   
  
"Mac!" He turned as well and sighed as Mac simply nodded her head without looking back at him.   
  
"Great" he muttered under his breath as he followed her out.   
  
AFGHANISTAN  
SAME TIME  
  
"It can't be" Clay muttered after a hard day at work. Interviews and more interviews and nothing had turned up. Absolutely nothing. Everything they had was already published. No breach of protocol had been found; all collaboration had been proven legitimate. Where had they gone wrong? Sighing once more he turned to the agent next to him.   
  
"Okay. I guess we're done. Good work. Get your team ready. We'll go back in the morning." Clay finished with a nod at the agent and turned away towards his vehicle. How could they have been so wrong about this? Another decoy. Hadn't they learned their lesson after the mess with Callahan?   
  
"Damn it" Clay muttered under his breath as he sat down noisily on a chair inside his quarters. The long drive from FFChem had given him some time to think. They'd been monitoring this company for almost a month now, and all for nothing. Once again, he attempted to straighten all the pieces of information out in his head.  
  
A few years before, there had been an Afghani scientist at LLNL, Dr. Rasdja, who had been head of the lab team that designed the computer model for the nitrogen fullerene. He had died in a car explosion in 1998, two years after the research had begun, but CIA had been monitoring the situation since then. In the past few months, and especially now after Kabir and his attempt at blowing up Americans with nuclear weapons, the CIA had been even more alarmed by intercepted communication between FFChem and LLNL. Nothing could be proved, of course, but after the deaths of Dr. Fleming and Dr. Jones this past year, it had seemed obvious something was wrong at Livermore.   
  
After Dr. Rasdja's death, information had been obtained that suggested he'd been killed because apparently someone had discovered he'd been involved in selling important information from LLNL's research to a chemical company in Afghanistan, namely FFChem. Of course, back then, Afghanistan was linked to terrorism as much as any other Middle Eastern country, therefore not much attention had been paid to the incident at CIA. But now, after 9-11 the world was a different place, and CIA had dug out this information once again after Dr. Fleming had been killed in an accident similar to Dr. Rasdja's. Now, Dr. Jones was added to the list, and that made three prominent LLNL scientists killed in the past four and a half years. It didn't add up.   
  
Clay had been assigned the case, and he'd studied the details carefully, considering all the pieces of information, looking at it from every angle, and the best he'd been able to come up with was that someone at LLNL had to be involved with all that was going on. Because of this, the most logical deduction had been that someone at LLNL was either directly involved with the swapping of research data or was aware of it and covering up for it. Sure, Clay had never been completely convinced of his own theory, but it made sense somehow. It gave him somewhere to start from.  
  
Now, the monitoring of FFChem had turned out to be a dead end street, and he was at a loss as to where to go next. Could Dr. Jones and Dr. Fleming's deaths be unrelated? That was highly unlikely. He'd been an agent long enough to recognize this. But now, with no apparent link to Afghanistan other than Dr. Rasdja's involvement at LLNL before his death, he was forced to go back to the beginning and map it all out once again. How frustrating.   
  
"Oh, Nik. Wait 'til you hear about this" he whispered to himself and winced as he imagined the 'I told you so' speech he'd get from his partner. She had very clearly stated her disagreement with Clay's theory, but neither him nor Don had listened to her. Oh, they were gonna hear it all right.   
  
"Please tell me you got something for me, Clay" was Don's greeting as he answered the phone. Clay sighed on the other end.  
  
"Sorry. I called to tell you just the opposite" he stated, and Don could see the grim _expression on his face.  
  
"What happened?"  
  
"We interviewed everyone, Don. Our people inspected everything. It was all in order. Nothing out of the ordinary."  
  
"Damn it" Don sighed and paused for a moment. "All right, well. I want you in California yesterday, Clay. No stunts."   
  
"Got it. I'll talk to you when I get there then" Clay answered and at Don's agreement hung up. Well, at least Annika would be glad to see him. Wouldn't she?   
  
HARM AND MAC'S HOTEL  
MONDAY JUNE 10, 2002  
2145 PT  
  
Harm and Mac sat across each other on the table as Annika devoured her meal. The partners simply looked on in awe as she gulped down three pieces of chicken, a sandwich, a side of salad, some mashed potatoes and a 32 oz. drink. Oblivious to their stares, Annika simply enjoyed her meal, even to the point of licking her fingers on occasion.   
  
"This chicken is delicious, guys" she spoke in between bites and Mac smiled.   
  
"I thought you'd like it. I certainly did" she said and they both laughed at Harm's disgusted _expression. Realizing there wasn't much he could do until Annika finished eating, he stood up and walked over to the TV muttering something about female Marines, spies, and carnivores. Mac and Annika simply laughed some more as he turned on ESPN and occupied himself with figuring out batting averages and ERA's in his head.   
  
"Clay call?" Mac asked as she noticed Annika nearing the end of her meal.  
  
Annika shook her head. "Not yet. God knows what he got himself into this time" she stated with a smile, more for her benefit than Mac's. It was inevitable worrying about Clay. She'd always done it, but lately it was becoming increasingly difficult to mask.   
  
"He's fine. He just got tied up, I'm sure" Mac answered sympathetically and Annika huffed in sudden anger catching both Harm and Mac by surprise with her sudden outburst as the piece of chicken breast landed on the plate. Hands outstretched in sign of frustration, she rose from the floor and paced.   
  
"See! That's the problem right there! I'm not supposed to be waiting for his call! I'm not supposed to be worrying about him, or even talking about him at all! This is not the way it's supposed to be. I can't... we can't afford to do this. This is not a damn soap opera, for God's sakes. Our jobs are hard and dangerous, and one day I'll wake up and he'll be gone on his way to heaven...or wherever, or I'll be gone and there won't be a damn thing either of us can do about it. This is the life we chose. We live with it. Why would it have to change now? I just don't get it..." she trailed off, aware of the fact she'd caught both officers off guard and also aware of the fact that she'd have some major explaining to do in a few seconds once they digested everything she'd blurted out. She had major damage control to do.  
  
"Do you want things to change?" Harm asked cautiously, ESPN and batting averages forgotten for the time being.  
  
"No! Yes. I don't know! I can't work like this, Harm. It's too stressful as it is to work undercover without the added burden of worrying about my partner. It's useless. Worrying doesn't help either of us."  
  
"Maybe it doesn't help you do your job, but it may help you understand some other things about your life" Mac said, knowing all too well how close to home the conversation was getting.  
  
"But doing my job IS my life. And so is Clay's" Annika almost whined as she turned towards Harm. "What happened to him over there, Harm? I know he lost his brother, but his brother was in a different situation than I am. He cannot possibly be scared of me dying on the job. We've worked together for seven years. He knows the risks just as I do, and we've never had problems with this before. I don't get it" her frustration was clearly visible now and Mac smiled sympathetically.   
  
She knew all too well that feeling of hopelessness when you come to that cross roads in your life. It had been her turn a few months before, when she'd realized she didn't know if she could live if she lost Harm. Annika was about to go through the same, and Mac knew from experience, it was something only she could figure out. No one could do it for her.  
  
"Nik, I think you have an idea of what's going on. You just need some time to come to terms with it" Mac spoke cautiously, realizing Harm had no good advice to offer in this area.  
  
Annika's head wanted to explode. This was not going the way she intended it to. She had to remedy that, immediately.   
  
"Mac, don't start. Clay is not in love with me, nor has he ever been. He's used to me. He loves me because I'm his best friend, and that's all. We're not like you and Harm. There's just nothing between us but friendship. Don't make it into something it's not. That's not what's bothering him, believe me. I know from experience,"Annika whispered the last few words with a sad smile.   
  
"From experience?" Harm asked at once. Even he was drawn into it.   
  
Annika's eyes widened as she realized what she'd said. She'd sworn she'd never talk about that again. She'd sworn she'd never relive it. Damn it all to hell. "Well..."   
  
The ringing of the phone interrupted her and with a silent prayer she reached for it.  
  
"Vranch"  
  
"Nik!"  
  
"Clay? Where are you? It's awful loud wherever it is" she spoke once relief coursed through her at hearing his voice.  
  
"In a plane. Listen. I'm coming over there. I'll be there in a few hours" he rushed through the words and Annika had a hard time understanding him.  
  
"You're coming? In a few hours? Why? What happened over there?"  
  
"I'll tell you later...no time now...Nik...bye" the connection ended and she was left standing there staring at the phone in her hand.  
  
"Don't even ask," she said soon as she noticed Harm and Mac's questioning stares. Holding up their hands simultaneously, they looked at each other and shook their heads as Annika turned back to finish her meal.  
  
TBC 


	8. Part 8

ABOUT US 3: The Good And The Bad 8/14  
  
  
Author: LeE  
  
e-mail: lee_81881@yahoo.com  
  
Classification: Romance H/M, Clay/Annika   
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Disclaimers: If they belonged to me... no comment. :) JAG is property of DPB and CBS. I'm just having some fun while procrastinating on homework...   
  
Author's Note: This story takes place two months after the events of About Us 2. The rest of the information related to LLNL and the different laboratories mentioned, as well as the current research on Nitrogen bond-dissociation is real, although not nearly as advanced as I make it in the story. Believe me, the world would be a whole lot different. Even though chemistry is a passion of mine, Nitrogen compounds is not my area of expertise; but if anyone is interested in further information about anything mentioned on this story, please don't hesitate to contact me.   
  
Many thanks to my betas, who always do such a great job keeping me motivated... you're the best, guys!...  
  
FROM PART 7  
  
"Vranch"  
  
"Nik!"  
  
"Clay? Where are you? It's awful loud wherever it is" she spoke once relief coursed through her at hearing his voice.  
  
"In a plane. Listen. I'm coming over there. I'll be there in a few hours" he rushed through the words and Annika had a hard time understanding him.  
  
"You're coming? In a few hours? Why? What happened over there?"  
  
"I'll tell you later...no time now...Nik...bye" the connection ended and she was left standing there staring at the phone in her hand.  
  
"Don't even ask," she said soon as she noticed Harm and Mac's questioning stares. Holding up their hands simultaneously, they looked at each other and shook their heads as Annika turned back to finish her meal.  
  
  
PART 8  
  
LLNL  
LIVERMORE, CA  
TUESDAY JUNE 11, 2002  
1123 PT  
  
Michael Ashton was not one to doubt his abilities. However, the constant reappearance of those two military officers was troubling him, to say the least. Why would they keep investigating after all the clear evidence he'd made sure was provided? He was starting to think he'd made a big mistake in bringing the military into this. It was supposed to be cut and dry. No loose ends. The DNA matched, the fingerprints, the location, the motive. It was a safe bet in his mind. Now he was starting to feel apprehensive about the whole thing. Lt. Fleming was supposed to be on his way to Leavenworth by now. Not at the brig pending end of investigation.   
  
Now, with those couple of military lawyers investigating, he wished he'd had more time to plan. More time to look at every angle, to study from every perspective. Improvisation in experiments was nothing new to researchers, but the risks were always calculated. Contrary to public belief, a research lab wasn't about mixing different colored chemicals all day long and watching out for explosions. Although that was sure fun when the opportunity arose to indulge in it, he thought with characteristic scientific humor.   
  
Biomedical research was complex, layered, and extremely expensive, which meant months of careful planning often preceded the execution of an experiment that would only last, in theory, a few hours. The planning, the strategic thinking, had always been Michael Ashton's specialty. His father had noticed this quality in him, and had encouraged his science education from the beginning. Some would say he just wanted Michael to follow in his own footsteps. But Dr. Jeffery Ashton had known better. He knew his son and Michael owed his love for science to him.   
  
As it went, Dr. Jones' unexpected discovery had forced Michael to improvise. A smug smile grew on his lips. He was a researcher, an investigator. Experiments never failed. They simply led you in new and exciting directions. He knew that. Without that knowledge it was impossible to survive the disappointments, and he'd seen it happen often enough to first-year students. Scientific research was unpredictable and impossible to fully control. One of the reasons he'd always loved research labs. It was fun, and exciting to attempt new strategies, and so rewarding when the results ended up as headlines in famous science journals.   
  
The situation with Dr. Jones' had initially unnerved him. Finally, he'd decided to apply his professional knowledge, and he'd taken a calculated risk. A risk because the necessary time to strategically sketch out an outline of what he intended to do had not been available to him, as it had in the past when he'd executed his plans to perfection. Thinking over his actions the week before, he sat back in his chair and sighed. At one point, he'd believed Dr. Jones to be on his side. They'd attended several functions and conferences together, where the main attraction had been the long talks about nuclear physics, its services and disservices. Pros and cons. That's what it all boiled down to, and he was only sorry that most of the educated population didn't share his opinion on the subject; or at least weren't prepared to act on it. Well, he was. He wasn't an idiot. He was acutely aware of the benefits of scientific research. That didn't make him blind to its ugly side; like most of his colleagues.   
  
In his calm state at work, he wished Dr. Jones hadn't interfered with his plans. He could say he had genuinely liked the old man. A week before, it hadn't seemed like much trouble to dispose of him. A call to his dear old friend Laura Smith at NCIS and all had been arranged. As it happened, he'd ended up owing Laura a few nights here and there, but he didn't mind that. It was a calculated risk he'd chosen to take, not a mistake. He had to believe that.   
  
"Excuse me, do you have a moment?" Mac's voice cut through his thoughts and Michael attempted a calm smile as he turned towards her.  
  
"Colonel, how good to see you. Of course I have a moment. What can I help you with?"   
  
His tone was pleasant enough, but Mac had been an investigator for too long and she'd spotted the current below the calm waters. Maybe there was something to Harm's idea after all. She'd have to pay closer attention.   
  
"Well, I know you didn't work directly with Dr. Jones, but we've been conducting interviews, just following procedure, and I was wondering if you could spare a few minutes" she said amiably.   
  
"Of course" he answered at once and stood from the chair he'd been sitting on facing the bulletin board. Mac's eyes darted towards it and with investigative caution swept her eyes over the calendar that was marked and lined with different color makers. Dates, meetings, appointments, deadlines. One particular day caught her eye and as she began her routine questioning of him she strained her sight to get a good look at it. October 12. Marked in red. 'Maybe a birthday' she thought and made a mental note to ask about it when she talked to Annika.  
  
"It sure is a shame what happened. Dr. Jones' was an excellent scientist, and I looked up to him. He and my father were good friends, so he and his family have been friends of mine for a long time" Michael answered calmly now, his nerves in check.   
  
"Where were you the afternoon of Dr. Jones' murder?" Mac asked as she scribbled something on her paper pad; a move not unnoticed by Michael. His hands came together, rubbing lightly as he answered. Mac noticed, but didn't let him know. In some cases, it helped to let the person know you were aware of their discomfort. In this case, she figured, it was best not to get into it.   
  
"I was out, with a friend. I hadn't seen her in a while and we had a, um, lunch date that ran a little long you could say" he answered with a grin on his face and Mac smiled back.   
  
"I see. So you weren't here that afternoon." Michael shook his head. "Do you remember anything out of the ordinary around the laboratory that day?" was her next question and she noticed Michael seemed thoughtful for a few seconds before he shook his head with a sigh.   
  
"I've thought about that day so many times the past week. I wish I could tell you something that could help. Normally, it's pretty busy around here so unless it's a pretty obvious thing we don't notice. Researchers tend to be oblivious to everything but their own work, Colonel" he finished with a big smile which she supposed was intended to charm her out of asking the hard questions. She had enough to aid her suspicions anyway. If he didn't have anything to do with it, fine. If he did, she didn't want to make him too uneasy.   
  
"Well, thank you for your time, Dr. Ashton"  
  
"Michael, please"  
  
"Michael. Have a good day"  
  
"Same to you, Colonel" he spoke as she offered one last polite smile and turned to go.  
  
October 12. Hmmm.  
  
SAME TIME  
DR. MARCH'S OFFICE  
  
"I really appreciate you taking the time for this. I know your schedule is really busy" Harm spoke politely as he sat across from Dr. March.   
  
The older man smiled easily and waved a hand in dismissal. "Oh, don't you worry about it, young man. I know you've got your job to do as well. Now, how can I help you?"  
  
"As you know we're conducting a military investigation into Dr. Jones' death. The main suspect is a Lieutenant in the United States Navy and though he's already been turned over to us, we feel it's our duty to make sure we've got the right man," Harm said with the flourish of an experienced lawyer and investigator and Dr. March nodded with a smile. He liked the old man, Harm thought, and continued on.  
  
"I'll just need to ask you a few routine questions."  
  
"Shoot" Harm smiled before looking down at his notes.  
  
"When was the last time you saw Dr. Jones?"  
  
"We had a meeting that morning. It was around ten o'clock if I remember correctly. It was just a routine administrative meeting. We had lunch that day at the Chili's a few minutes from here as we always did after a meeting like that. Larry, that's Dr. Jones, said he had gotten an urgent page from his wife at home. He said he thought it a little odd since his wife was supposed to be away for a few days, but he went anyway. He left at around one o'clock and that was the last I saw of him. As soon as Michael, Dr. Ashton, returned that afternoon I asked him to check on Larry. That's how I found out about it all." Dr. March finished in a small voice, obviously shaken by the fate of his good friend.   
  
"Dr. Ashton?"  
  
"Uh, yes. Him and Dr. Jones were extremely close. I thought maybe he would know something."  
  
"I see" Harm was thoughtful for a second. He was confused. If Ashton was that close to Dr. Jones, why hadn't he stepped forward or attempted to contact any of them about the investigation?   
  
"Did you notice anything irregular at all that day, or maybe during the past few weeks? Any strange behavior?"  
  
Dr. March thought for a few moments and then sighed as he shook his head. "Nothing. We've all been under a little stress because we've been trying to keep N Division going after Dr. Fleming's death last year. It hasn't been easy. So I guess everyone's been a little on edge the past few months with all the meetings and now the convention that's coming up, but nothing I would catalogue out of the ordinary for a research lab."   
  
Harm nodded. "Well, thank you very much for your cooperation, Dr. March. We appreciate it."  
  
Dr. March smiled sadly. "You're welcome, Commander. Anything else I can help with you let me know."  
  
Standing up, Harm prepared to leave, and with a shake of Dr. March's hand he strode out of the office, leaving a thoughtful researcher behind in his oversized chair.   
  
CLAY'S HOTEL ROOM  
LIVERMORE, CA  
  
Livermore wasn't a crowded place and not really a tourist city. Therefore, it had been fairly simple to find a room next to Harm and Mac. Of course, his room wasn't connected to their rooms, at his own insistent request. Looking around, Clay focused on the furniture that filled the room. It wasn't all that unique. The bed looked rather comfortable and after last night's verbal match with his partner and best friend, he thought a good nap was definitely in order.   
  
"Oh, who am I kidding?" he murmured to himself as he walked over towards the window. Annika and him hadn't seen eye to eye at all the night before. So much that he'd left Harm's room with a pretty loud slam of the door and a few undoubtedly rude shouted words. Lately, it was all or nothing with her. They were either completely at each other's throats, or completely calm and sentimental. Closing his eyes he recalled their conversation, or fight, the night before. He had wanted so much to tell her the truth. To tell her the real reason for his fear.  
  
*************  
  
"Damn it, Clay. I'm staying and that's the end of it," she shouted at him, enraged at his overprotective attitude.   
  
"Annika, listen to me..."  
  
"No, you listen to me, Clayton Webb. I am a trained CIA agent. And I will not stand here and have you underestimate my capabilities. You either get a grip or I'm calling Don and requesting he send you back to Washington."  
  
"Why do you have to be so damn stubborn? Someone in that lab killed Dr. Jones. And I'm willing to bet whoever did it has to do with Dr. Fleming's death as well. I'm not telling you to leave. I'm just suggesting you get some help in there." Why was she being so stubborn? He was just making a suggestion for God's sake.  
  
"Nothing out of the ordinary has happened there. There is no need for you to be raising hell because of a hunch, Clay. If you were thinking about this reasonably you would see that." Her temper was slowly getting the best of her. She'd never raised her voice at him when personal matters were discussed. But damn it, this was her job. Why was he being such an ass about it? He had certainly not objected to any of her past assignments. She'd almost been killed in the Caribbean. He had to know *that*.   
  
"Oh, so now you think it's a hunch? What about the weeks I spent in Afghanistan, huh? You think I haven't worked on this as hard as you have?" His temper was nearing the edge of the cliff, and he wasn't sure he'd be able to hold it in much longer.   
  
"Yes, I know you have. Behind my back! And you know what?..." she waited for him to meet her eyes. "I don't *give* a damn!"  
  
Clay averted his eyes immediately. This was not going well. "It wasn't meant like that. I didn't mean to go behind your back, Annika, I just wanted to..." he trailed off, but Annika knew just where he was coming from and she saw red.  
  
"To what, Clay? To protect me? Is that it? Well, I suggest you take a loooooong look at my service record and then you come talk to me about needing protection. Damn it, Clay. I know what I'm doing. You're the one who doesn't!"  
  
Oh, now she was asking for it. "Oh, yeah? Well, tell me partner. When did you stop trusting me and cataloguing my instinct as merely a 'hunch'?"   
  
The anger rushed out, and disbelief inundated her. Her gaze went hazy for second. "I don't know, Clay. Maybe about the same time you stopped trusting me" The words left her mouth before she had a chance to think it through and instantly saw his eyes flash with hurt and anger.   
  
Clay wanted to yell back. God, more than anything he wanted to lash out right back at her. She deserved it. How dare she presume he didn't trust her? Years. It had taken them years to build the trust they shared and it was his biggest source of pride. How dare she even suggest it. She'd done it a few nights ago. She'd asked him if he didn't trust her. He'd been appalled by her question and had denied it vehemently at once. But he'd known she didn't mean it. She'd asked. But she knew the answer. Now, as he looked back at her, her words ran over and over in his mind, and he could see there was a part of her that believed it. A part of her that believed their trust was gone. It hurt.  
  
Whirling around, he dashed towards the door and with fury slammed the door shut behind him.   
*************   
  
He'd been grateful Harm and Mac hadn't been in the room when his temper had clashed with Annika's. But they knew. They'd been right outside in the hall when he'd rushed out of the room with his anger bubbling dangerously inside him. And he imagined Annika had been shaken, and Harm and Mac had been there for her. Been there for her. It should've been him. He should've been there for her.   
  
It'd been so long since they'd had an argument like that. As a matter of fact, they hadn't had an argument like that since their second assignment seven years ago. They'd yelled, and they'd insulted each other, and doubted each other's abilities, and from that had blossomed the best and truest friendship he'd ever had. Once again they'd doubted each other, and he couldn't help but wonder what would blossom after this.   
  
"Damn it, Annika. Why don't you get it?"  
  
Talking to himself wasn't quite the answer, but it was the best he could come up with. She had refused to answer the phone when he'd called her the night before. He'd left messages; he'd paged her, e-mailed her. Nothing. Boy, when that woman got angry, she got angry, and there was no going around it.  
  
"One second" Clay called halfheartedly as he heard the knock on the door.   
  
"Well, hello Clay. You're looking beautiful this afternoon" Harm said cheerfully as Clay opened the door to let him in.  
  
"Stuff it, Harm. I'm not in the mood" Clay murmured as he walked away from him towards the little wood table next to the window.   
  
"Nooooo. I couldn't tell. I'm sorry" Harm was enjoying this way too much.  
  
"Kick the spy when he's down, right?"   
  
"Come on, Clay. I'm Navy, you're CIA. It's my moral obligation to mess with you. Now do you want to hear my take on this or are you gonna sit here in your million dollar jeans and sulk about Annika all day?"  
  
"Annika's got nothing to do with this."  
  
"Sure she does. But we won't get into it now. I've got better things to do than poking holes in your arguments. Now, Mac and I have been thinking..."  
  
"Awful noisy when you think aren't you? Barely slept a wink last night listening to you two." They were on the room next door. Clay knew he was exaggerating. Oh well.   
  
Harm beamed at him. "Don't be a smart ass"  
  
"Too late"   
  
"Shut up, Clay" he ordered good-naturedly. "As I was saying before you so rudely offered your opinion on our private nocturnal lives, Mac and I have been thinking, and we have a theory."  
  
"Right" Sarcasm poured. He couldn't help it.   
  
"Enough" Clay glared at him before sighing his assent. "Now, I know this might come as a surprise to you, but we actually agree with you. Whoever killed Dr. Jones and possibly Dr. Fleming did it from the inside. Mac and I spent the morning interviewing people at the lab."  
  
"Where's Mac?"  
  
"With Annika. Listen. What do you know about Dr. Fleming's death?"   
  
"Everything there is to know. Why?"   
  
Leave it to Clay to come up with a convoluted answer. "We believe it's related to Dr. Jones' death."  
  
"Well, please enlighten me, Sherlock."   
  
Harm rolled his eyes. "Mac interviewed Dr. Ashton today. He seemed awfully nervous when she kinda snuck up on him while he was staring at his calendar. She noticed a date circled in red and said she'd ask Annika about it. October 12" Harm finished and watched the recognition flood Clay's face.  
  
"Dr. Fleming's death. It was October 12 of last year" he thought for a second, then shook his head. "That doesn't prove anything, Harm."  
  
"Guess who else died on October 12?"  
  
Clay looked thoughtful. His eyes opened wide suddenly and he jumped from the chair to open up his laptop. "Dr. Rasdja died October 12, 1998. One year after..."  
  
"Bingo. We ran a background check on Ashton. There's nothing special going on that day, as far as family or important dates go. Well, nothing special but his father's death. October 12, 1997. He's not married. He doesn't have kids. His father's death could be the reason he's got it marked on his calendar."  
  
"So what if his dad died that day? He has it marked on his calendar? Who cares? Lots of people remember dates like that. You do." Harm took the comment in stride. Clay was trying to take his attention elsewhere.   
  
"Clay"  
  
"What?"   
  
"Spill it"  
  
Clay sighed. "Okay, I agree with you. I need to show you something. I wanted to wait until we were all together, so Annika wouldn't get on my case again for doing this behind her back."  
  
"Nah, she's not talking to you." Clay glared. Harm held up his hands. "Sorry"  
  
"Uh huh. Now, since you seem to be reading me so well these days, I'll tell you what I got..."  
  
"What is it?"  
  
Reaching out, Clay took hold of a folder in the table and handed it to Harm.  
  
"When did you get this?" Harm asked as he focused on the contents. There was an eyewitness. Dorothy Garcia was the housekeeper at the Jones' residence. She'd called in the police when she'd found Dr. Jones' body. Apparently, the CIA had had a talk with her the night before, and she testified to have seen a man going out the backyard door when she'd arrived at the house that afternoon.  
  
"Early this morning. Don faxed it through the secure line. Awfully suspicious don't you think?"  
  
"Why didn't she come forward before? When she was interviewed right after she reported the death?" Harm said with a frown as his eyes still skimmed over the folder.  
  
"She said she was scared. Two years ago, a gang member killed her brother after he served as witness in a murder trial in LA. Don checked out her background and when he found out about her history he had Agent Phillips fly out here and question her again. He's one of our best. Mrs. Garcia is in protective custody now."  
  
Harm contemplated the information for a few seconds.   
  
"Ashton said he had an alibi. A lunch date with some old girlfriend or something, Mac said. It might not have been him that Mrs. Garcia saw. Lt. Fleming was found two blocks from Dr. Jones' home. It could've been him she saw. The physical description written here matches both men. Dr. March told me this morning that he'd looked for Ashton at the lab but hadn't been able to find him around noon. We need to tell Mac and Nik."  
  
"I still don't get it. Why are you so set on Dr. Ashton? Just 'cause he hit on Mac doesn't mean he deserves prison time, Navy" Clay finished with a smirk.  
  
Harm narrowed his eyes. "How'd you know about that?"  
  
Clay opened his mouth to speak, but Harm stopped him with a hand. "I don't think I want to know."  
  
"You sure? It's quite an interesting story, you see..."  
  
"He's the only solid lead we've got, Clayton" Harm rolled his eyes dismissing his comment. He'd never admit to Clay his discomfort at the way Ashton had looked at Mac. Not yet anyway.   
  
"Sure, but then you could always go for the NOT so obvious bad guy, right? The one who's locked up already AND whose fingerprints were found on the weapon, AND who's story doesn't check out?"   
  
Harm raised an exasperated eyebrow, and Clay sighed with a shrug of his shoulders.   
  
"Yeah, yeah, I know. It smells like a set up to me too. But damn it, Harm. Dr. Jones' death is completely unlike Rasdja's and Fleming's. There's no pattern. It doesn't make sense. Ashton might know something about their deaths, but not Dr. Jones'. We need more brains on this one. Know where the women are?" The grim smile on his face had Harm shaking his head.  
  
"You're pathetic, Webb. And for the record, I always know where Mac is," Harm answered with a grin. "Listen, Clay. Ashton's up to something. It just feels like we're missing it. I agree, he might not have anything to do with Dr. Jones' death, but damn it, there's something going on with the guy. Dr. March said him and Jones were really close, and yet he never came forward even though he knew we were investigating. He didn't take any time off either after Jones' death. Mac said he was awfully nervous when she interviewed him. She knows how to read people" Harm finished and waited for Clay to put the pieces together in his head.   
  
"What's Nik saying about this? She's kinda fond of Dr. Ashton herself" he finished with a sneer.   
  
Harm ignored the latter comment. "I spoke to her a few minutes ago. She said she'd take this afternoon to poke around some more. She knows an awful lot about him, and no one's above your partner's suspicions I hear. She said he seemed a little uneasy yesterday when Mac and I went to the lab in the morning. We're supposed to meet for dinner at 1800 back here."  
  
"Okay. So you're suggesting we give Annika some time to get more familiar with the possible killer?" Clay asked nonchalantly, annoyed to no end at the suggestion.   
  
Harm crossed his arms. "No. I'm suggesting we give Annika some time to do her job, which she happens to be excellent at. In the mean time, we go talk to good Lt. Fleming. Someone may have paid Fleming to do it. The evidence is too overwhelming against him after all."  
  
"You think Fleming would go for it?" Clay asked dubiously.  
  
Harm sighed. "I can see how he would think of it as a way to get information on his father's whereabouts." Clay pierced him with an apologetic look. Harm offered a dismissive shrug. "I'm not saying I'd do it, Clay, or that I condone it. I'm just saying it wouldn't surprise me, that's all."   
  
"You know, that time when they arrested you...I thought for a second you'd killed the guy. I know how ridiculous it sounds now, but I didn't know you all that well back then."   
  
"I know. I understand. If it'd been you in jail I might have thought the same thing."  
  
Clay's eyes met his. Indeed, they had more in common than they thought. Clay's father had also died in the line of duty. Harm had found out about his father's ultimate fate. Clay hadn't. And maybe there was no hope he ever would; but he'd still helped Harm when the search for his father had gotten him and Mac in trouble. He understood.   
  
Clay sighed as he stood up slowly. He was doing his best not to let his personal life affect his work. The situation with Annika was driving him to madness. Harm felt sorry for the guy.   
  
"Listen, Clay. You have to work it from the sidelines this time. I'm not saying you have to like it. Just live with it, okay?"   
  
"I have a bad feeling about this, Harm"  
  
"Yeah, well. All you can do is do your best and trust..." he paused until Clay met his eyes, "that your partner will do the same" and with a raised eyebrow Harm walked over to the little refrigerator to get out a bottle of water.   
  
"I think I'll need something a little stronger to buy into this crazy idea of yours" Clay murmured as he accepted the bottle from Harm, who simply smiled knowingly at him.  
  
"You can get wasted after this is all over, pal" Harm offered lightly with a pat in the back.  
  
"You mean you're not getting wasted with me?" Clay's mouth turned up in what could be catalogued as a teasing smile.   
  
Harm thought of Mac, and grinned. "No way, spook"  
  
TBC 


	9. Part 9

ABOUT US 3: The Good And The Bad 9/14  
  
  
Author: LeE  
  
e-mail: lee_81881@yahoo.com  
  
Classification: Romance H/M, Clay/Annika   
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Disclaimers: If they belonged to me... no comment. :) JAG is property of DPB and CBS. I'm just having some fun while procrastinating on homework...   
  
Author's Note: This story takes place two months after the events of About Us 2. The rest of the information related to LLNL and the different laboratories mentioned, as well as the current research on Nitrogen bond-dissociation is real, although not nearly as advanced as I make it in the story. Believe me, the world would be a whole lot different. Even though chemistry is a passion of mine, Nitrogen compounds is not my area of expertise; but if anyone is interested in further information about anything mentioned on this story, please don't hesitate to contact me.   
  
Many thanks to my betas, who always do such a great job keeping me motivated... you're the best, guys!...  
  
  
FROM PART 8  
  
"Listen, Clay. You have to work it from the sidelines this time. I'm not saying you have to like it. Just live with it, okay?"   
  
"I have a bad feeling about this, Harm"  
  
"Yeah, well. All you can do is do your best and trust..." he paused until Clay met his eyes, "that your partner will do the same" and with a raised eyebrow Harm walked over to the little refrigerator to get out a bottle of water.   
  
"I think I'll need something a little stronger to buy into this crazy idea of yours" Clay murmured as he accepted the bottle from Harm, who simply smiled knowingly at him.  
  
"You can get wasted after this is all over, pal" Harm offered lightly with a pat in the back.  
  
"You mean you're not getting wasted with me?" Clay's mouth turned up in what could be catalogued as a teasing smile.   
  
Harm thought of Mac, and grinned. "No way, spook"  
  
PART 9  
  
MAC'S HOTEL ROOM  
SAME TIME  
  
"Harm went to find Clay. They're going over to talk to Lt. Fleming again. There could be something we missed."   
  
"That's a good idea," Annika answered as she stepped out into the balcony and sighed as the warm afternoon breeze assaulted her skin. Mac followed slowly, not sure weather Annika needed a friendly shoulder or some peace and quiet. Her argument with Clay the night before had left her tired and spent, and she had cried for hours until she'd finally gone home.   
  
Standing there, steps away from the glass door that separated her from her friend, Mac couldn't help the sadness that engulfed her as she wondered what would come out of last night's shouting match. But even in face of the pain her friends were experiencing, her conversation with Harm came back to her, and she closed her eyes as the words came rushing back.   
  
***********  
"I can't believe they're fighting like this" Harm whispered as he felt his heart go out to the woman sobbing in the next room. "He loves her, Mac."  
  
"I know. And I know she loves him back. But it's hard for her to believe it. She'll trust him with everything but her heart."   
  
"Why?"  
  
"Maybe the same reason it took you and I so long to figure it out. They rely on each other as partners, and friends. They know each other so well when it comes to work, but it's not easy for them to separate life from work. Just like it wasn't easy for us. Remember?"  
  
"I remember. I wish we could change that, but that's all in the past now."  
  
"Is it?" Her voice was quite, her eyes focused on the wooden door in front of her.   
  
"Mac?" He was not following.   
  
"I'm sorry, Harm. I know whatever it is that's bothering you, you've got your reasons for not telling me right now. I just...it frustrates me sometimes is all."  
  
"What do you want me to do?" There was no trace of anger or exasperation in his tone. Only sadness.   
  
"I don't know, Harm. I think you've got to figure that out yourself."  
  
His chin fell towards his chest. "I don't want to hurt you, Sarah. I just... I don't know how to explain this to you. I've been... well... I just need to get a grip on it, that's all" His eyes focused on hers, in search of understanding, of acceptance.   
  
She simply nodded. "I know." But her heart twisted inside. He'd been having nightmares, that involved her, and he still wouldn't let her in. Did he not want her to worry? Maybe. That didn't make it hurt any less.   
  
"Come here." Pulling her into his arms in a tight embrace, he cursed himself when a few tears made their way down her cheeks and into the hollow of his throat.   
  
"I love you, Harm." Her voice broke slightly and he tightened his hold on her. Why couldn't he tell her? What was it about his dreams that terrified him? Why was it that every time he held her he vowed to let her in, but when he tried, fear held him back? Fear of what?   
  
"I love you too, baby...love you too"  
************  
  
Annika had come back into the room and said her goodbyes, assuring them she was fine and reminding them of the risks of anyone from LLNL finding out about her link to them. It could blow her cover. They had agreed, but had insisted she call them if she needed anything. In turn, she'd secured a promise from Harm to keep an eye on Clay. She was worried about him, but felt it was in their best interest to give him some space.   
  
After she'd gone, Harm had taken Mac tenderly in his arms and had proceeded to show her how much he loved her. She'd returned his love. Fervently. But there'd been something missing. He'd said he loved her. He'd said he trusted her. He'd said he wanted her in his life forever, but something had felt wrong. There was an invisible gap between them, and for the life of her she couldn't figure out why it was there, or what had caused it. Had it been her constant prodding that had resulted in his obvious distance?   
  
Harm had apparently sensed it as well, and he'd gone out of his way to love her as tenderly as he knew how. His lips had touched every inch of her body; his hands had pleasured her in every way he knew existed. He'd spoken of his love incessantly, he'd showered her with attention, he'd devoted himself to her constant physical ecstasy; but still it hadn't been enough. The gap between them was growing exponentially with every day that passed with unspoken fears.   
  
"Mac? Are you okay?"   
  
Annika's voice interrupted her thoughts and she turned to smile warmly at her friend. Annika didn't buy it.   
  
"Sure, I'm okay. Just thinking"  
  
"About what?"  
  
"Oh, it's nothing"  
  
"Uh huh"  
  
"Give it up, Vranch" Mac said through a chuckle. "You never told me how you ended up as a field agent anyway. Did you really go to Cal Tech?"  
  
Annika smiled briefly. "Oh yeah. And I loved it."  
  
"Why didn't you stay in the research business? Why such an abrupt change?" Instantly Annika's face contorted, briefly, but Mac didn't miss it. Bad memories. Regrets. She knew all about them.   
  
"Nik, you don't have to tell me. I mean, if you don't want to talk about it..."  
  
"No, it's okay. I...could've stayed. I loved what I did. Research was always a passion of mine. I just...it was complicated, and I felt I needed a clean break. When I was little, I always dreamed of working in top-secret projects. You know, like in the movies. In a building with military guards, retinal scans to access different rooms, all state of the art technology. It always made me feel important to think I'd do that someday. You know, without chemists there'd be no cleaning products, no hair products, or make up..."  
  
"No make up!"  
  
Annika laughed. "There's chemistry everywhere, Mac. Most food products we consume wouldn't exist without chemicals. The health industry would be more or less non-existent. Every science field relies on chemistry at one point or another..."  
  
"Isn't biology the most basic science?"  
  
Annika grinned and shook her head. "Don't get me started. The debates over chemistry vs. biology used to get pretty intense in college. Chemists are a passionate breed, Mac" she said with a chuckle.   
  
"Well you'd have to be to stand the boredom of..."  
  
"Okay, that's enough now." Annika said with an _expression of mock hurt.  
  
Mac laughed. "Sorry. I really hated chemistry in college."  
  
"I can tell. Anyway, I figured I could be the brain behind it all, you know? Like the people who design airplanes, or weapons. No one talks about them really. No one knows them, but without them none of what we do would be possible. Okay, except Bill Gates. Anyway, I love people, but I can't deal with them all day long. I love the quietness of a research lab. It's so controlled, and clean, and apparently harmless, and everything looks so complex, and the names on the bottles are almost impossible to remember ...it's just heaven."  
  
Mac's face scrunched. "That's almost... sick"  
  
"Oh, give me a break. You loved chemistry and you know it."   
  
Mac snorted. "Right"  
  
Annika grinned. "Anyway, that's why after I got my doctorate degree I applied for the physical science research program at the CIA. I had just turned 25. I was there for a few months, and as I got more and more acquainted with the way the agency worked, I decided I'd like undercover work as well or more than I did a lab. Some of the skills I already had from my science training, and the rest just came naturally to me. And I loved it."   
  
"Wow. That's quite a change"  
  
"Yeah. It felt like so at first, but after my first mission, I knew undercover work was what I was meant to do. That was seven years ago." By the tone of her voice, Mac could almost believe Annika was completely happy with the way her life had turned out. Almost.  
  
"Well, I wish I could say the same about my first experience in a courtroom. I was so nervous, I threw up three times the morning of the trial," Mac said with a rueful smile, and Annika just stared.  
  
"Are you serious?" Mac nodded.  
  
"Very"  
  
"Wow. You want to try undercover work for a while?"   
  
Mac laughed. "I've done my share of undercover assignments, thank you. I'll leave it to you lunatics."  
  
"Lunatics?" Annika looked wounded. "I see how it is."   
  
Both women laughed and after a few minutes they sat down in companionable silence at the wood table that occupied the left side of the room. Annika seemed lost in her thoughts and Mac regarded her for a few seconds before speaking.  
  
"I bet he was a jerk."  
  
"Who?" Annika looked up in surprise at Mac's comment.  
  
"Whoever was responsible for you career change" Mac's voice was soft, understanding, and Annika nodded her head sadly.  
  
"He was" Annika looked down, and Mac simply nodded. Reaching out she held Annika's hand briefly, in show of silent support.  
  
"When you said that Clay didn't love you, you said you knew from experience. I'm not trying to pry, Nik, but whatever it is, I'm here if you want to talk." Mac looked on in amazement as Annika stiffened at the mention of the word 'love'. 'Oh, Nik, what happened to you' Mac thought sadly. Did Clay know?  
  
Annika was silent. There wasn't much she could answer. Her life was complicated enough without bringing back the past. "Thanks"   
  
"So, let's lay it all out. What do we know about Ashton?" Mac asked, effectively bringing Annika out her dreary mood.   
  
"Well, he's a damned fine researcher, that's for sure. Like I said, his father used to work at LLNL as well. I guess some of what he's accomplished was facilitated by his father's reputation, but they guy's got a brain to die for, Mac."  
  
"So I've heard. I told Harm how it went when I interviewed him earlier today."  
  
"I spoke to Harm a while ago. I told him I'd take some time to go back to the lab and do some poking around. But I'll do that after we go through all these files right here" Annika finished as she patted the offending stack of folders and scattered papers next to her on the table. Mac grimaced.   
  
"Ouch"  
  
"You got that right, Marine"  
  
"Let's get to it, then"  
  
A few hours later, they were still submerged in an endless heap of papers and files that seemed to forever stretch their brain storage capability. The mess was a combination of CIA and DOD files concerning a number of research projects being conducted at LLNL. Clay was convinced there was something being covered up at LLNL. The communications with FFChem had definitely been traced back to Livermore, but no legitimate breach of protocol had been found in the company files when they'd been reviewed the week before by Clay's team. As a result, Clay was convinced there was something fishy at LLNL, and she was starting to believe it as well.   
  
"Nik, how did Ashton's father die?"  
  
Annika looked up and thought for a second. "A car explosion. I heard someone comment on it a while back. Why?"  
  
"Well, October 12 is the date of Ashton's father's death. Dr. Rasdja one year later, on the same date, in a car explosion as well. Dr. Fleming last year, same date, same way." Mac said distractedly as read through one more file.  
  
"That's true, but Dr. Jones didn't follow the pattern. What are you getting at? You think Michael has something to do with the deaths? Listen, Mac. Michael and Dr. Jones were really close. He couldn't have done it." But even as she said it, her mind started doubting. She didn't really *know* Michael Ashton after all.   
  
"I'm not really sure, yet. I think we need to talk to Clay. Let's just go over the rest of this and then we'll compare notes with Harm and Clay at dinner."  
  
Annika simply nodded and returned to her reading.  
  
"Mac, I think I need to go back to the laboratory. All this white and black is making me dizzy. Besides, I can poke around some more and see what I can find out on Ashton," Annika stated, stretching her small frame on the chair and running a hand through her red curls of hair.   
  
Mac looked up, and with an owlish blink realized it'd been three hours since they had started. And consequently, almost four hours since they had eaten lunch.   
  
"I need a snack."  
  
Annika grinned. "Me too. And then I'm heading back to work. A doctor's appointment got me a few hours off. I still have to report after that. It's not like I'm dying or anything" she smiled.  
  
"Okay, well I'll stay here and finish going through this files. If anything jumps out I'll page you."  
  
"Okay" Annika busied herself with picking up her purse and making sure she wasn't forgetting anything. Mac studied her as she moved around the room. How did she do it? How could she be so calm after everything that had been said between her and Clay the night before?   
  
"Annika, are you sure you're okay?"  
  
"Me? Of course" she sighed and rested a hand on her hip at Mac's uncertain stare. "Listen, Mac. It was bad last night, with Clay. I know that. But I also understand where he's coming from. He's been overly sensitive lately because of what happened in Afghanistan with his brother. I don't blame him for the way he's acting. He's just a little confused right now about the way he's feeling, and he needs to come to terms with that. Soon as he does, we'll be all right."  
  
"You really think it'll be that easy?"  
  
"Why wouldn't it be?"  
  
"I don't know. It seems that he's, uh... coming to some realizations about his life and..." the utter sadness in Annika's face took her by surprise, but her words simply shocked her.  
  
"I sure hope you're not talking about love, Colonel. I'm not in love with, Clay. And he's not in love with me. I love him as my friend, and my partner, and that's all. It's just a little blurry right now because his emotional world is being turned upside down and he's confused. It'll pass. I know."  
  
"Is this part of what you have experience on?" Annika looked away, and Mac relented. "Okay, look. How do you know it's just confusion and not something else?"  
  
"I just do" 'It always is' she added silently. Once again Annika's eyes focused on a point to her left and Mac could sense the end of their female bonding time. Her shields were firmly in place when she looked back. "Anyway, as soon as Harm and the brain-dead monkey return, you make sure to interrogate them. And I'll see you all for dinner then."  
  
Mac sat still for a second, trying to figure out if Annika had actually realized what she'd called her partner. Annika looked over at her from her position near the door and winked.   
  
"Don't tell him I called him that. He'd hate me for not telling him to his face," and with that she left, leaving a laughing Marine behind to mountains of unread files.   
  
TBC 


	10. Part 10

ABOUT US 3: The Good And The Bad 10/14  
  
  
Author: LeE  
  
e-mail: lee_81881@yahoo.com  
  
Classification: Romance H/M, Clay/Annika   
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Disclaimers: If they belonged to me... no comment. :) JAG is property of DPB and CBS. I'm just having some fun while procrastinating on homework...   
  
Author's Note: This story takes place two months after the events of About Us 2. The rest of the information related to LLNL and the different laboratories mentioned, as well as the current research on Nitrogen bond-dissociation is real, although not nearly as advanced as I make it in the story. Believe me, the world would be a whole lot different. Even though chemistry is a passion of mine, Nitrogen compounds is not my area of expertise; but if anyone is interested in further information about anything mentioned on this story, please don't hesitate to contact me.   
  
Many thanks to my betas, who always do such a great job keeping me motivated... you're the best, guys!...  
  
  
FROM PART 9  
  
"I sure hope you're not talking about love, Colonel. I'm not in love with, Clay. And he's not in love with me. I love him as my friend, and my partner, and that's all. It's just a little blurry right now because his emotional world is being turned upside down and he's confused. It'll pass. I know."  
  
"Is this part of what you have experience on?" Annika looked away, and Mac relented. "Okay, look. How do you know it's just confusion and not something else?"  
  
"I just do" 'It always is' she added silently. Once again Annika's eyes focused on a point to her left and Mac could sense the end of their female bonding time. Her shields were firmly in place when she looked back. "Anyway, as soon as Harm and the brain-dead monkey return, you make sure to interrogate them. And I'll see you all for dinner then."  
  
Mac sat still for a second, trying to figure out if Annika had actually realized what she'd called her partner. Annika looked over at her from her position near the door and winked.   
  
"Don't tell him I called him that. He'd hate me for not telling him to his face," and with that she left, leaving a laughing Marine behind to mountains of unread files.   
  
  
PART 10  
  
AMANDA JONES'S TEMPORARY APARTMENT  
LIVERMORE, CA  
1435 PT  
  
"I'm sorry this place is not more accommodating. I just couldn't stay near the house," Amanda Jones explained as she allowed the two men entrance to her temporary housing.   
  
"It's not a problem. We appreciate you meeting with us, Mrs. Jones" Clay spoke politely as they crossed the short distance towards the sofa in the corner of the small apartment.   
  
"I understand you have a job to do. I want to know who killed my husband too. And I want to know why." Amanda's silvery streaked hair curved lightly around her round face, her blue eyes wide with emotion as she fought the tears that threatened once again. Harm could only nod.   
  
"Ma'am. Your housekeeper has come forward with information that might be useful to our investigation. She testified to have seen a man leaving out the backyard door as she was coming in the house the afternoon of your husband's murder. Do you have any idea who would have access to your home other than Mrs. Garcia? There was no apparent forced entry, and Mrs. Garcia pointed out the two dogs did not make a sound."  
  
Amanda seemed thoughtful for a few seconds. "Well, other than Mikey, I can't really think of anyone. He feeds our dogs when we're away."  
  
"Mikey?"  
  
"I'm sorry. I still think of him as a child" she smiled embarrassedly. "Michael Ashton. Dr. Michael Ashton, I should say. I still can't believe he's a doctor already. Anyway, he's the only person other than Dorothy who has keys to the house." Amanda spoke quietly, not realizing the implications of what she was stating. Clay and Harm exchanged worried glances. It was one thing to have a theory, but this new revelation was alarming.   
  
"Ma'am. Were your husband and Dr. Ashton close?"  
  
"Oh yes. Larry was like a second father to Michael. After his father died, in that terrible car accident..."  
  
"Car accident, ma'am?" Clay knew all this. He just didn't think confronting Mrs. Jones with all the facts was smart. He wanted her side of the story after all. So he feigned ignorance.  
  
"Yes. Michael's father died a few years ago. 1997 to be exact. His car exploded. It was a shame. Michael took it terribly bad. He didn't speak to anyone for months, and finally Larry was able to get him to open up a little. They started to bond, if you will. Michael had always been like a son to us. Larry and Jeffrey, Michael's father, had gone to college together at UC Berkley."  
  
"So you would say your husband was closer to Michael than he was to most people in his workplace?"  
  
"Oh yes. Michael and Larry often took trips together. After his father's death, Michael got involved deeply in anti-nuclear groups and things of that sort. Michael loves environmental science, and Larry did too. So, he would make sure to accompany Michael when there were conferences and meetings regarding environmental science and nuclear chemistry research. I remember their heated debates over the advantages and disadvantages of N Division research at Livermore. They talked about it all the time. Now, don't think I know exactly what it all means" she laughed lightly "Years of being married to a scientist, well you pick up things here and there you know?"  
  
"Of course" Clay indulged her with a polite smile. "Ma'am, you mentioned N Division research? Dr. Ashton is opposed to this kind of research?"  
  
"Yes, very much. But he understands that science is not all good. There's always bad things we can't always fix or avoid. At least that's what they would always end up agreeing on. Is there a problem with...oh my, is Michael okay? Is that why you're asking me all this?"  
  
"Ma'am, we're just investigating and collecting evidence for now. But I assure you we will keep in touch with you and let you know how it all goes. I understand you've rejected protective custody but have agreed to police surveillance."  
  
"Yes, I'd like to remain close to home. But I understand there's a possibility that whoever killed Larry might come after me. I've got grandchildren on the way I'd like to see born, gentlemen."  
  
Harm and Clay smiled. "Of course" Rising, both men headed towards the door and with one last goodbye they headed for their car.   
  
"Now, how was that for an interview."  
  
"Pretty damn, confusing, Clay. Pretty damn, confusing"  
  
LLNL  
TUESDAY JUNE 11, 2002  
1730 PST  
  
Dr. Michael Ashton was not dealing well with this new development. He had seen the look on the Colonel's face when she'd interviewed him. But that was the least of his problems at the moment. Nicole Avery was his problem.   
  
There had always been something different about her, he thought. She was not your typical first year graduate student. So he had followed her. And he had figured it out. Nicole Avery, or whoever she was, was not someone a person in his position could afford to have too close. Minutes before, she'd come around his lab station and had casually asked about his relationship with Dr. Jones. In any other circumstance, he would've taken her attention to mean she was interested in his work. That she admired him, like he knew so many other people did.   
  
What a shame. He really liked Nicole. Until last night, when he'd seen her leave the lawyer's hotel in the outskirts of Livermore. Why would she talk to them after hours? If he hadn't seen her, he'd probably fall for her act. But not now. He was suspicious enough of her, and figured a woman of her shape and size couldn't be too hard to dispose of. He couldn't afford any more mistakes. Not after Laura. God only knew what she'd be capable of doing after their argument the night before. It was already June. October would roll around soon enough, and Dr. March had to be next. It all had to fall in place.   
  
Sitting silently at his desk, Michael Ashton wondered if he was insane. Was he? No, he thought. Insane were the people who saw what the bad side of science was doing to the world and still sponsored and supported it. And all for what? For money, for power, for control. All the things he had wanted once, but now repulsed. He didn't want money, he didn't want power, he didn't even want control. He just wanted to prevent the people who had it, or wanted it, from imposing it on others who had no way of defending themselves. Like his father.   
  
His father was an angel, in Michael's eyes. What had he done to deserve what happened to him? Nothing. And neither had the people who died every year as consequence of nuclear and chemical explosives. Now, *that* was insane. Science was not meant for that. It was meant to help people, to make life better, easier, smarter. It was ultimately meant to bring life, not destroy it.   
  
Making sure N Division research at Livermore was destroyed was his ultimate goal. At first, he'd thought Dr. Rasdja's death would be enough to quiet N Division down. But no. Along had come Dr. Fleming, with his flowery propositions and ideas for the Division to continue on Dr. Rasdja's footsteps. So, he'd had no choice but to eliminate that threat as well. It'd surely taken him a few years to find the courage to do it. But he'd finally done it. And he couldn't be more proud. His father, he was sure, would be proud.   
  
He remembered the anonymous letters written to the CIA, denouncing Dr. Rasdja's involvement with FFChem before his death. He'd thought that would be a safe way to prevent him from ongoing research. But CIA had dismissed the information, leaving him with no choice but to execute plan B.   
  
With Dr. Fleming, he hadn't even bothered. The idea had evolved from year to year until he could no longer control it. And finally, he'd killed him too.   
  
Because of his knowledge of Lt. Fleming's relationship with his uncle, he'd found it simple enough to set him up, playing on his search for his father, and enlisting the help of Laura Smith, the gullible woman who'd panted after him for years, and who also happened to be the supervisor at the Consolidated Evidence Facility at NCIS San Diego. All he'd had to do was sleep with her a few times and it was done. He'd been amazed at his ability to put it together so fast, and in the end, he'd thought he'd done a pretty good job.   
  
Now, another obstacle showed its ugly head, and he was confident he'd find a way to overcome it. He had to. Nicole Avery had to be dealt with.   
  
HARM'S HOTEL ROOM  
1815 PST  
  
Mac sat in the old burgundy chair. It sure was uncomfortable, but she wasn't paying much attention that the moment. There were so many possibilities running through her mind. She needed a sounding board. She needed Harm.   
  
"You're late" She accused with narrowed eyes as Clay and Harm made their way across the room towards them. Clay stiffened at once, thinking Annika was in the room as well. Glancing around nervously he realized she wasn't and he let a sigh of relief escape before his worried mind picked up on her absence. Annika was never late.  
  
"Where's Annika?" Clay demanded at once. And Mac smiled. He's not in love with her, my ass.  
  
"She's on her way. Called a few minutes ago"   
  
"Okay" he seemed satisfied with the answer for now, so Mac turned her attention to Harm.  
  
"She called Clay *the* 'brain-dead monkey'," Mac said matter-of-factly, as if stating some known fact. Clay's eyebrows rose, and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.  
  
"She did?" he asked softly.  
  
"Yeah" Mac answered, still looking at Harm.   
  
"I'm not even going to ask" this from Harm who'd been busy taking off his uniform jacket. Mac made a slow whistling sound as he unfastened his tie and he simply smirked as he took in the twinkle in her eyes.   
  
"Down, Marine"  
  
Mac's smile could melt ice. "You're no fun, Harm." His eyebrows rose in playful questioning.   
  
Clay's face contorted with discomfort with every second that passed. "Holy... would you two stop it?" Harm and Mac's laughter bubbled as Clay rolled his eyes in defeat; his arms crossed in front of him waiting for them to give it a rest.  
  
"How did it go?" Mac asked after their laughter had subsided enough. Harm came closer, taking a seat across from her in the edge of the bed. Immediately, her hand reached out to take his, and he smiled as her fingers automatically began to run over his bigger hand. It wasn't a conscious thing. She just did it. Every time they were close and she knew she could touch him, she'd take his hand in hers and caress it. He loved it.   
  
"Well enough. I think we have enough to start thinking of getting Lt. Fleming out of the brig."  
  
"Really? Well Annika and I have a few ideas of our own. But you go first."  
  
"Well, we spoke to Mrs. Jones today"  
  
"And..."  
  
"She told us a little about Dr. Michael Ashton. Take a look at this" Clay spoke as he reached inside his briefcase and withdrew the folder he'd shown Harm earlier. Mac studied it for a while and then looked up at Clay.  
  
"Wow. Okay, this is exactly what Annika and I were talking about earlier today. Why don't we..." The knock at the door interrupted her.   
  
"You expecting someone?"  
  
Clay shook his head. Harm moved closer to the door, looked through the peephole and frowned slightly.   
  
"It's a woman," he whispered the answer to Clay and Mac, who'd asked in the same tone of voice. Slowly, he opened the door wider, taking in the nervous stance of their female visitor.   
  
"Hello Commander Rabb. I'm Laura Smith, NCIS."  
  
TBC 


End file.
